TORONTO, July 4 (Reuters) – Goldcorp Inc said on
Thursday it has halted all construction work at its Eleonore
gold project in northern Quebec and started evacuating staff
from the site due to forest fires in the region.
The Vancouver-based company said that a fire, now about 100
kilometers (60 miles) from the development-stage project in the
James Bay region of the province, is advancing toward the site
with prevailing winds.
It was not immediately clear what impact the halt and
evacuation would have on the project, which Goldcorp has
expected to start producing gold in late 2014.
“The situation is dynamic so we can’t speculate as to the
scope of the impact on construction schedules or
infrastructure,” spokeswoman Christine Marks told Reuters. “At
this point, our concern is for the safety of our people.”
Marks said about 500 people were working at the site and
that some were evacuated on Wednesday night, with the rest
leaving on Thursday. A small crew will remain on site to manage
preventive measures.
