Kirkland Lake Gold has announced a number of initiatives designed to protect employees, their families and local communities from the COVID-19 virus. Included among the initiatives are the introduction of company-wide health and safety protocols, a temporary reduction in operations at the Detour Lake Mine, a remote operation with a large accommodation camp, until April 30, 2020, the suspension of non-essential work at all operations, as well as the suspension of all exploration activities across the company. Detour Lake produced 601,566 oz in 2019.
Detour Lake Mine is a camp operation, located approximately 185 km northeast of Cochrane, Ontario and 300 km northeast of Timmins, Ontario. The camp at Detour Lake accommodates approximately 1,100 workers at any given time. To reduce risk of the COVID-19 virus, the company will transition to reduced operations effective March 23, 2020. Continuing activities at the mine will include mill processing of reduced feed from the open pit and stockpiles, management of water levels during the spring run-off and environmental management activities. All personnel not essential for the performance of these activities will be required to leave or remain offsite until April 30, 2020. In addition, workers from remote First Nations communities and those along the James Bay coast, as well as employees requiring airline transportation to get to and from the minesite, will also be advised to remain off site until the end of April. For workers affected by the move to reduced operations, the company will provide paid leave for 14 working days, the equivalent of a month of normal pay.
Approximately 300 workers are expected to remain on-site to perform the essential activities during reduced operations. In addition to the health and safety protocols set out above, a number of additional measures applicable to a camp operation have been implemented, including processes for the assessment, isolation and medical evacuation of employees, increased food and hygiene safety and a greater frequency of cleaning.
