Preliminary indications from Osisko Mining Corp. are that the fire at Canadian Malartic was started by welding in proximity to the No. 4 cyclone area and spread to the mill roof of that sector. The fire began at 11:50 p.m. May 9, and was extinguished at approximately 4:30 a.m. May 10. Proper emergency procedures were followed and there were no injuries to staff or emergency workers during the incident. No industrial chemicals or toxic gases were released during the fire.
Osisko is assessing the damage. All staff is currently back at work at the site, and regular mining activities are continuing in the pit outside the mill area. Mining operations continue on a normal schedule. Initial reports from the site indicate the fire was contained around the No. 4 cyclone and immediate area.
The mill uses four cyclone sets. The number four cyclone set is obviously damaged along with an overhead crane in the cyclone bay. There is limited damage to an overhead crane in the ball mill bay. The roof structure above the cyclone bay suffered damaged and limited damage to the walls. There appears to have been no damage to the SAG or ball mills, or other systems of the mill.
Preliminary assessment indicates the mill will be shut down for a period of approximately two to three weeks as a result of the fire. The company will be using this downtime to advance additional maintenance operations at the Canadian Malartic mill.
