Crews from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are working on containment, including both ground and aerial suppression with five water bombers. The Municipality of Red Lake is advising all residents to evacuate the municipality.

PureGold has temporarily suspended operations, maintaining a security force at the mine site while the fire is being contained.

With construction underway, the PureGold Red Lake mine is expected to pour its first gold towards the end of this year.

Probable reserves at the site are at 3.5 million tonnes grading 9 g/t gold, for a total of 1 million oz. Mineral reserves are reported using cut-off grades between 4 g/t gold and 4.75 g/t gold. The PureGold property covers 47 sq. km and features a 7-km long gold system that remains open.

Tuesday morning, PureGold’s stock was down 6% on the TSXV. The company has a C$712 million market capitalization.