ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Vale S.A. is moving to resume operations at the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador in early July.

The company says it has moved from care and maintenance into a planned maintenance period, the first step in restarting operations.

Vale placed the mine on care and maintenance in March as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Production is expected to resume in early July and to reach full capacity by early August.

Vale says it's partnering with a private lab in Newfoundland and Labrador to provide extensive testing of all employees entering the fly-in/fly-out operation.

There have been no cases of COVID-19 to date at the site.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2020.

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