Weak base metal prices have begun to take their toll on Northern Ontario’s mining industry.
In August, First Nickel suspended operations at its Lockerby Mine in Sudbury and applied for receivership when principal lender Resource Capital Fund demanded repayment of its loans. The company reported a $48.1 million loss for the first six months of 2015.
Also in Sudbury, KGHM International put its McCreedy West Mine on care and maintenance as of October 1, idling 25 workers.
In northwestern Ontario, North American Palladium laid off 44 employees at its Lac des Iles Mine, citing low metal prices. The company decided to cease blending ore from its low grade surface stockpile with higher grade underground ore and return to a 14 day on, 14 day off operating schedule for the mill at a planned throughput of 13,400 tonnes per day while in operation.
The layoffs leave North American Palladium with a workforce of 422.
