Newmont to reopen some Canadian, South American mines in ‘days or weeks’

Newmont is looking to restart in as soon as days some of the four Canadian and South American gold mines that it shut last month to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, CEO Tom Palmer said on Friday.

The world’s biggest gold miner wound down operations at its Yanacocha mine in Peru in mid-March and a week later placed two more mines in Canada and one in Argentina on care and maintenance as it sought to safe-guard the health of its workers and comply with government regulations.

The move, which impacted its Musselwhite operations in northern Ontario, and Eléonore mine in Quebec as well as Cerro Negro in Argentina, came as it withdrew its full-year guidance and said some production could be deferred into 2021.