Nov 23 (Reuters) - Canadian gold miner Iamgold Corp
said on Monday it will temporarily cut 437 jobs at its Westwood
mine in Quebec, reducing the site's underground workforce by
about 70% as operations remain suspended since a 'seismic event'
in October.
While the company has not specified the nature of the
seismic activity, it has launched an investigation to find the
cause and said on Monday it will provide an update early next
year.
The miner had earlier slashed its full-year total
attributable production forecast to between 630,000 and 680,000
ounces, 2.5% lower at the midpoint compared with previous
forecasts, citing the drop to the suspension of Westwood.
Iamgold was forced to book C$395 million impairment charges
to its full-year 2019 earnings due to increased seismic activity
at the Westwood mine in the fourth quarter last year.
The Toronto-based company has four operating gold mines on
three continents. Westwood, which began production in the first
quarter of 2013, is currently Iamgold's only underground mine.
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna; Editing by Krishna Chandra
Eluri)