Dominion recalls 60 workers to the Ekati diamond mine, preparing for a restart after a 6-month outage

Dominion confirmed to CBC News Saturday morning that personnel would return in early December to prepare the mine for full operation with COVID-19 prevention measures in place.

The announcement is the beginning of the end of a long ordeal for the workers in the mine, who spent months waiting to know if they would have a job to return to.

Dominion closed the mine in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and entered credit protection shortly thereafter.

The company said they were unable to sell diamonds for approximately $ 180 million following a slowdown in global demand during the pandemic.

The workers were initially fired, but in late September the company fired some workers without firing.

Since 2017, Dominion has been owned by The Washington Companies, which bought it with $ 550 million in creditors’ bonds.

A agreement to sell Dominion to another branch Washington’s group went bankrupt last month, casting further doubts on the mine’s future. Additionally, the company’s CEO stepped down in October.

But a press release sent on Friday said the company was “informed by the banks” and various creditors “who expect to be able to reach a binding agreement in the near future to restructure Dominion’s debt and finance the Company.”

“While waiting for the parties to reach such an agreement, Dominion has decided to recall these employees based on the lead times needed to mobilize the workforce while adequately complying with the COVID-19 isolation protocols,” it reads.

The company’s creditors’ protection has been extended to December 15. In an affidavit filed with a Calgary court in September, it was said was selling diamonds again after a long pause.

The reopening of the mine comes amid the rise of COVID-19 case counts across southern Canada, where many of the workers will be based. Dozens of COVID-19 cases have been identified at Nunavut and NWT mining sites since March