Alamos calls temporary mining halt at Island Gold

Operations at the Island Gold Mine in northeastern Ontario are being suspended for two weeks as a precautionary move to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to nearby communities.

Alamos Gold announced March 24 that the underground operation is being placed on care and maintenance for at least 14 days. 

While half the workers are local residents, the rest are fly-in, fly-out miners who come from all over Ontario and Quebec.

They're housed within the town of Dubreuilville, just to the northwest of the mine. The town of Wawa is 83 kilometres away.

The company said no confirmed cases of the virus have been reported among employees or contractors.

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Those remaining on site are in security, water management, and are engaged in other environmental protection activities.

“First and foremost, our focus is on ensuring we protect the health and safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate," said Alamos president-CEO John McCluskey in a statement.

"We have a very unique camp set-up at Island Gold, with the camp located directly within the town of Dubreuilville. For these reasons, we have decided that the best way to minimize the possible spread of the virus is to temporarily suspend the operation of the mine. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we will take further action based on the best available information."

The company also mentioned that it's sponsored a service to provide hot meals to those in need within Dubreuilville, including anyone with health issues, facing economic challenges, those at risk, and residents 65 years of age or older.

Alamos said its other mine operations at Young-Davidson, outside of Matachewan in northeastern Ontario, and Mulatos, in Mexico, have not been impacted.

Across the board, the company said all three mines remain on track to collectively reach the first quarter gold production target of 105,000 to 110,000 ounces.