Rio Tinto shuts iron ore mine in eastern Canada amid wildfires

By Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Rio Tinto on Monday said it has initiated a "coordinated shutdown" at the Iron Ore Company of Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador in response to an evacuation order issued by the local government over wildfires.

The iron ore mine is jointly owned by Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Corp. and Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Corporation. Earlier in the day Champion Iron Ore Limited also said that it was temporarily shutting down operations at its Bloom Lake mine.

"There have been no injuries or damage to company infrastructure to date. We will initiate a restart of operations as soon as government authorities indicate that it is safe to do so," Rio Tinto said in a statement.

On Saturday an aggressive forest fire in Newfoundland and Labrador forced the local government to order the evacuation of residents in Labrador City.

The local government on Monday announced a one-time financial assistance payment of C$1000 ($731.42) to households that were ordered to evacuate from their residence due to wildfires.

($1 = 1.3672 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto and Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by Sandra Maler)