Lac-des-Iles mine to stay open until 2027, says Impala Canada
CBC
Impala Canada’s Lac-des-Iles palladium mine is extending operations until summer 2027, the company announced in an internal memo last Thursday. The news is being greeted with a sigh of relief, as well as some disappointment from the company’s employees.
In July, the company informed the site’s employees that it would be shuttering the site, which is located roughly 90 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, next spring. At the time, company spokesperson Emily Robb told the CBC in a statement the decision was rooted in a nearly two year period of declining palladium prices.
The reasoning was met with skepticism from the United Steelworkers union, which represents most of the mine’s roughly 750 employees, as the stock price per ounce of palladium has been steadily on the rise since May 2024.
Over the past four months, the price of palladium has continued to rise, with the price of palladium per ounce closing at $1960.74 on Wednesday.
“The recent increase to the palladium price enables Impala Canada to make the investments required in tailings facilities, underground development, equipment, etc., to continue operating until June 2027,” Impala Canada spokesperson Emily Robb said in a statement to the CBC.
Impala’s decision to extend its operations at the site comes with little surprise to Cody Alexander, the union's staff representative for Thunder Bay and the surrounding area.
Yet, he adds that the extension is disappointing to union members who had left the mine due to what he calls a “premature [closure] announcement.”
The mine’s tailings pond has long been a concern for Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek, upon whose traditional territory the mine is located. The community, also known as Gull Bay First Nation, have repeatedly accused the mine, and its owners, of environmental damage.
In July, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek’s chief Wilfred King said the tailings pond was at capacity. He added that while plans to extend the pond had been discussed, they’d repeatedly been rejected by the First Nation over concerns pertaining to the design and methods.
In Hill's memo, he said the one year extension is an opportunity to continue the company’s work towards a long-term tailings solution, which could allow the mine to continue operations for “years to come.”
According to Alexander, the company’s actions in the months prior to Thursday’s announcement raised questions over whether the mine was in fact preparing to shut down. He says talks between the union and Impala over a closure agreement broke down in August, and there hasn’t been any progress made to prepare for the mine’s closure.
In the months since the closure announcement, Alexander says the company has hired dozens of people to replace those who left the company.
“They’ve been hiring other people in to fill the positions, which is kind of one of those things we’re scratching our heads about,” Alexander said. "They announced that they were closing and people started looking for different jobs, rightfully so, our members, but they [Impala] would still hire other people into those roles.”
In the company’s internal memo, Hill said the success of the mine continues to depend upon palladium prices and production rates at the site. According to Alexander, the overall mood of the union’s members at the mine is one of joy, as the site has the potential to stay open for years to come if it is managed sustainably.
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