Vale is resuming operations at its Totten mine, located 40 km west of Sudbury, indicating that it is now safe to do so. The mining company indicates that it is accelerating its production.
A team of specialists have been working diligently since September to extract the shovel from the main shaft that had become stuck there. The workers also carried out the necessary repairs.
© Ezra Belotte-Cousineau/Radio-Canada
Steelworkers Local 6500 President Nick Larochelle and Vale’s Ontario Operations Manager Gord Gilpin answered questions from reporters hours after the last miner was released on September 29.
Production at the Totten mine was halted on September 26, 2021 after a shovel engulfed the main shaft. Thirty-nine workers, trapped a kilometer underground, were brought to the surface safely through a secondary exit.
Once the employees have returned to the surface safely, Eduardo Bartolomeo, CEO of Vale, said in a statement that an investigation would be launched into what happened, so that the company can learn from it and take action. measures to ensure that such an incident never happens again. The investigation report has not yet been released.