- Alamos Gold (TSX:AGI) has been forced to suspend operations at the Island Gold mine in Ontario
- The suspension will last 14 days, and the company hopes this will help limit the spread of COVID-19
- Island Gold is located in Dubreuilville and therefore transmission of disease from or to the local community was a motivating factor for the suspension
- The company’s Mulatos mine in Mexico and the Young-Davidson mine, also in Ontario, remain unaffected
- Alamos Gold (AGI) is up 2.17 per cent, with shares trading at C$7.52 and a market cap of $2.98 billion
Alamos Gold (TSX:AGI) has been forced to suspend operations at the Island Gold mine in Ontario for 14 days due to COVID-19 concerns.
The company is choosing to cease operations and scale down staff and the site to limit the spread of COVID-19 through the workforce.
While the operation scales down, a number of essential personnel will remain at Island Gold and the site will operate at a maintenance level.
Many gold companies have performed similar reductions but Island Gold in particular presents a higher-risk to the nearby community of Dubreuilville.
John A. McCluskey, President and CEO of Alamos, outlined the specific challenges faced by the Island Gold site.
“At Island Gold, approximately half of our employees travel from various parts of Ontario and Quebec, while the other half are local residents.
“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,” he said.
John went on to say that the company is monitoring the evolving situation and may take further actions based on new information.
Alamos Gold has implemented a number of COVID-19 safety protocols, which include medical screenings and site restrictions. The company has sponsored a local service in Dubreuilville that provides hot meals for groups at risk from COVID-19.
Alamos also operates the Mulatos mine in Mexico and the Young-Davidson mine in Ontario. However, to date, operations at these sites have yet to be affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Alamos Gold (AGI) is up 2.17 per cent, with shares trading for C$7.52 at 11:02am EST.