The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Measure established to prevent COVID-19 in Alaska mine camp North of 60 Mining News – March 20, 2020
Teck has set up protocols to prevent COVID-19 spreading to Red Dog, a remote and camp supported zinc mine in Alaska's Northwest Arctic region.
Teck Resources Ltd. March 16 said it has initiated measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 that include remote work, travel restrictions and other protocols.
These protocols include pre-flight virus screenings for all personnel travelling to its Red Dog zinc mine in Northwestern Alaska.
"Teck is working diligently to closely monitor the recommendations of health officials and update all employees at Red Dog on information and current best practices for prevention of COVID-19," the company said.
Due to Red Dog's remote location, a camp houses roughly 600 employees and contractors who work on a rotational schedule. To help prevent COVID-19 from getting into camp, which could create both health and production problems at the northern zinc project.
In a move to preempt this strain of the coronavirus at Red Dog, all personnel travelling on the Alaska Airlines charter to the mine will be required to complete flight pre-screening.
Beacon, a third-party occupational health and safety services provider, will be providing this screening for all passengers. There will be two locations set up for this purpose including one in the check-in and ticketing area, close to Ravn ticketing, and a second towards the far end of the B Concourse.
A clearance card will be provided if no concerns are found through the pre-screening assessment. This pre-screening card along with a boarding pass are required for the flight.
This process is expected to take extra time, so those scheduled to go to Red Dog will need to arrive at the Anchorage airport two-and-a-half to three hours before boarding.
If concerns are found, the Red Dog mine site physician's assistant will be contacted at and further direction will be provided.
Anyone with symptoms consistent with those of COVID-19 is urged to call their healthcare provider immediately and must also call the Red Dog physician's assistant to get direction if they are required to stay at home. In addition, Teck employees are also required to contact their supervisor.
Anyone who has knowingly been in close contact with someone known or suspected to have symptoms consistent with those of COVID-19 must contact the PA and will be asked to stay home.
"Teck is working diligently to closely monitor the recommendations of health officials and update all employees at Red Dog on information and current best practices for prevention of COVID-19," the Vancouver, British Columbia-based miner penned in a memo to mine employees and contractors.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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