Canadian miners Hudbay, SSR pause operations due to wildfires
Canadian mining firms Hudbay Minerals and SSR Mining said on Wednesday they had temporarily suspended operations in their respective mines that were close to wildfires in parts of the country.
Hudbay said it had paused operations in Snow Lake, Manitoba. Its operation in the province had produced 7.7-million pounds of copper in the first quarter of 2025, 7.2% of the company's total production.
Additionally, exploration activities in the Flin Flon and Snow Lake regions have been paused as fire mitigation efforts are underway, Hudbay added.
The company said it believes its infrastructure and facilities in Snow Lake and Flin Flon have a low risk of being damaged.
"We will continue to monitor the situation, ensuring a safe return to full operations as soon as it is advisable," said Rob Carter, Hudbay's senior vice president, Canada.
The company's actions come after local authorities issued a precautionary early evacuation notice for the town of Snow Lake on Tuesday.
Last week, Manitoba declared a state of emergency and urged thousands of people in northern and eastern parts of the province to evacuate, as wildfires spread in Central and Western Canada.
The outbreak of fires across much of western Canada's north is due to unusually hot and dry conditions and flames are consuming hundreds of thousands of hectares of tinder-dry forest and bushland.
SSR Mining also temporarily suspended its Seabee operations in northern Saskatchewan due to power interruptions caused by forest fires about 15 kilometers north of the site. The fires do not pose an immediate threat to site and infrastructure, the company added.
Shares of SSR Mining were down 2.9% at C$16.75 in afternoon trade.
Wildfires in Alberta province have also prompted the temporary shutdown of some oil and gas production, with Cenovus Energy scaling back its nonessential workers at its Foster Creek facility.
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