Lockerby Mine workers reportedly turned away at gate Thursday

NorthernLife.ca has received reports that First Nickel's Lockerby Mine in Sudbury has shut down.

A contractor who supplied equipment to the mine confirmed the gates were locked Thursday and security workers told employees they could not enter the property.

The contractor, who asked not to be named, said he was told the company's bank seized its assets after its poor first quarter financial results were announced earlier in the week.

First Nickel lost $33.1 million in the first quarter of 2015.

In early January, First Nickel restructured its operations at the nickel-copper mine, and cut 75 per cent of its contractors and 30 per cent of its permanent workforce – from 164 jobs to 115.

The cuts represented around 45 per cent of First Nickel's Sudbury workforce.

In June 2015 First Nickel announced it would be halting development of an underground ramp at the Lockerby Mine.

“We will now shift our focus to maximizing production of the remaining ore and then transitioning to care and maintenance or closure,” said First Nickel president and CEO Thomas Boehlert at the time.

“The company is currently in discussion with its secured lenders regarding alternatives with respect to its outstanding indebtedness in light of the expected timing of cessation of mining at Lockerby.”

Mine and union officials could not immediately be reached.

NorthernLife.ca will have more on this story as it develops.