Red Lake mayor Fred Mota said he’s very pleased with the potential sale of a mine that was shut down last year.
West Red Lake Gold Mines entered into a binding letter agreement last month with Pure Gold Mining to purchase the moth-balled mine just outside of Red Lake.
“That's a very positive step for our community moving forward historically known as a mining industry place,” he said. “We have to wait to see what the parameters are around the sale and what it means for future jobs. But it's all positive and, and really happy that sale went through.”
According to Northern Ontario Business, the mine would be West Red Lake Gold’s first operating mine.
Mota said for the majority of workers laid off from the Pure Gold mine have found jobs, “whether it's locally or fly in, fly out.”
With all the mining activity in the area, Mota said he’s had discussions with the province about growing the labour force to meet the upcoming need for workers.
“There's always concern about the workforce and where people are coming from,” he said. “We have to take that in a stepped approach, but we're doing everything we can from our municipal standpoint to assist that labour market.”
He also said the municipality is in discussions with the province to obtain land for housing developments for a growing population.
Mota said there are more opportunities to come especially with Kinross Gold coming in, potentially employing up to 1,000 people to build a new mine in the next two years.
“And we know that Evolution [Mining] is in its current state of operation as well too,” he said.
“We're happy. We believe we're in a good place right now,” he said. “The jobs are going to be plentiful moving forward and we know that there is going to be an influx of people coming to our community.”
Monta said Red Lake has gone through a lot of ups and downs historically, especially with the mining industry, but added that the community is resilient and has always bounced back.
“They may say there is a 10-year life in one of the mines, but it's been there for 50 years,” he said.
“We do know that resources will be depleted eventually one day, but it's not today and it's not in our near future. We know Kinross Gold is coming and they are going to be a stable mine in our community, employing lots of people and it's going be a lengthy duration.”
