Coronavirus: Diavik Diamond Mine Still Open, Staff Working Four-Week Rosters
March 25, 20
(IDEX Online) - The Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada is maintaining full production despite the coronavirus pandemic.
But it is restricting the frequency of travel by rostering staff to work four weeks on, four weeks off.
Operators Rio Tinto say they have reduced travel to and from the remote mine at Lac de Gras, 200km south of the Arctic Circle, to minimize spread of the disease.
The standard two-week fly-in fly-out (FIFO) rotation was replaced with a four-week rotation from 21 March.
Some workers have complained that they'll struggle to work away from home for four weeks at a time rather than two, according to local media reports.
"We will continue to take measures to help protect our people, guided by the advice and regulations of the Canadian and Northwest Territories governments and international authorities," said a Rio Tinto spokesman.
"Other steps we are taking include placing employees who live in twelve isolated northern communities on paid leave; asking all employees not go to work if they feel unwell or believe they have been exposed to the virus; self-isolation for any employees who have recently travelled outside Yellowknife, cancelling all non-business critical travel to site and health screenings to reduce the possibility of transmission to our sites."