TIMMINS, Ont. – Underground work at Goldcorp’s Dome mine will come to a permanent halt around mid-year, more than a century after it originally began producing ore from one of Ontario’s most prolific gold regions.

The closure will directly affect 115 employees and 76 contractors, the company confirmed Friday, a day after the mine’s management told the local community.

The Dome mine — which had previously suspended operations for about two years ending in early 2006 — is part of Goldcorp’s Porcupine complex in Timmins, Ont.

Goldcorp (TSX:G) says other operations, including Porcupine’s Hollinger open pit mine and Hoyle Pond underground mine and a processing plant, will continue for the foreseeable future.

Brendan Zuidema, general manager of the Porcupine operation, said the company will work with the United Steelworkers union to close the site safely and in accordance with the labour contract.

“The Dome underground has been an important contributor to Porcupine’s overall production and a significant part of the history of this gold mining district,” Zuidema said in Friday’s announcement.

The Vancouver-based company (TSX:G) is one of the world’s biggest gold producers.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story: A previous version had an incorrect spelling for Timmins in the placeline