Former employees at Gaspe Copper to get assistance

The Gaspe Copper division of Noranda Minerals at Murdochville, Que., has set up an initial fund of $1 million to help former employees at the Gaspe Copper mine dispose of their homes in Murdochville. Underground operations at the mine were shut down last summer in the aftermath of a fire, putting about 400 out of work.

The company says employees who have since found employment outside of Murdochville will be helped to sell their residences in the town, and that about 100 of these employees will be eligible to qualify for assistance under the program.

The $1-million initial funding will be provided entirely by Gaspe Copper, and the program will be administered through a committee to be nominated by Gaspe Copper and under the direction of lawyer Gabriel Bernard, a long-time Murdochville resident. A spokesman for Noranda Minerals tells The Northern Miner the effect of the plan will be to establish a market for the houses, and provide fair market value.

Noranda Minerals still operates a custom copper smelting complex at Murdochville, with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of copper anodes. It employs some 300 people.