SASKATOON -- Cameco is temporarily suspending production at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan and placing the facility in safe care and maintenance mode due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are in unprecedented and challenging times,” said Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel in a news release.

“In the face of great uncertainty, our first priority is to protect the health and well-being of our employees, their families and their communities. Our leadership team took a measured approach and weighed many factors in assessing the situation both globally and locally to make this decision, which takes into account the specific and unique circumstances at Cigar Lake, a remote, isolated fly-in/fly-out northern Saskatchewan operation.”

There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Cameco’s workforce, the company says. The operation will be ramped down over the coming days and placed into care and maintenance for four weeks. During this time, Cameco will assess the status of the situation and determine whether to restart the mine or extend the care and maintenance period.

The precautions and restrictions enacted by the federal and provincial governments, the significant degree of concern among leaders in remote isolated communities of northern Saskatchewan and the increased challenges of maintaining the recommended physical distancing at fly-in/fly-out sites were critical factors Cameco considered in reaching this decision, according to Cameco.

At full production, around 300 people typically work across the Cigar Lake operation at any given time. During the shutdown, about 35 people at a time will remain on site.