New coronavirus cases scuttle plans for joint site visit
Travel in and out of the Hope Bay gold mine in western Nunavut has halted, following nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the site, says Jason Neal, president and CEO of TMAC Resources Inc.
Today there was to be a crew rotation of 130 workers out of the mine site to Yellowknife and Edmonton, and the arrival of 130 new workers to take their place.
The freeze on travel to the site has also prevented a visit by executives from TMAC and Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd., which is seeking to buy TMAC and its Hope Bay mine.
That visit’s been held up as the Government of Nunavut evaluates the situation, Neal said. “If the GN says that they do not see it’s safe to operate the mine, we would go into care and maintenance,” Neal said. “We hope it’s not the case.”
Meanwhile, the federal government is still reviewing the proposed sale, which was first pitched in May and approved by TMAC shareholders in June.
For the rest of this article: https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/covid-19-cases-at-nunavuts-hope-bay-mine-cast-shadow-on-proposed-sale-to-shandong-gold/