The owners of Minto mine are putting its heavy-duty work contract out to tender.
Pelly Construction has held the contract for the past five and a half years. It has approximately 75 workers at the site.
But, contrary to reports otherwise, the company doesn’t plan to lay off any workers, whether it wins the new contract or not, said vice-president Jess Jewel.
Given the territory’s shortage of skilled workers, Jewel expects his workers at Minto could be “seamlessly” shifted to another site if needed. Pelly has a workforce of more than 400 people.
Jewel doesn’t fault Minto’s owner, Capstone Mining, for putting the contract up for competition.
“It’s pretty understandable. It’s a publicly traded company and they want to make sure they’re getting the best value for their shareholders.”
The current contract between Capstone and Minto expires at the end of January. Capstone expects to award a new contract by mid-December.