More mining operations halt production in northwestern Ontario due to COVID-19

Three more mining operations in northwestern Ontario have temporarily closed due to COVID-19.

About 16 people will remain on site to conduct necessary maintenance, environmental work and safety.

The company said those staff who must remain on site will stay in detached cabins, and all communal areas, including the kitchen, are shuttered.

Harte Gold said it is working on a strategy to get staff off site. The company has a number of bunkhouses and trailers in nearby White River, while the mine itself is accessed by a narrow bush road.

Another mining exploration company, First Mining Gold Corporation, said it has moved employees out of its Goldlund and Springpole exploration sites.

At Goldlund, partway between Dryden and Sioux Lookout, drilling crews have been demobilized, and moved off site.

At Springpole, in a more remote location about 110 kilometres from Red Lake, staff and contractors have also been demobilized. That operation is now on a care and maintenance plan, with work slated to start again in late spring or summer of this year.