Agnico Eagle sends Nunavut workers home amid 13 COVID-19 cases at its mines

With 13 presumptive cases of COVID-19 reported among Agnico Eagle’s workforce in five days, the company is sending its Nunavut employees home.

The cases have been detected at the Meliadine, Meadowbank and Hope Bay mines since Dec. 18, according to a company news release.

Nunavummiut who are currently working on site will be sent home and those who are off site will not return to work for at least three weeks, all with full pay, states the release.

Agnico is also sending home Nunavut-based employees working on exploration projects.

The mining company and public health authorities made the decision given the increased spread and transmissibility of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to the release.

For the rest of the year the company will gradually reduce the remaining workforce and production level.

Agnico Eagle has increased its testing protocol at mines in Nunavut and is currently reassessing them to prepare to bring Nunavut employees back in early 2022.

There was most recently an outbreak at the Hope Bay mine in October when 11 employees tested positive and two cases of the virus also popped up at the Meadowbank location in the fall.

The Government of Nunavut gave Agnico the green light to bring their Kivalliq workers back to the Meliadine and Meadowbank mines in June after over a year of staying at home in efforts to keep COVID-19 out of the communities.