Greater Sudbury experiences 3.1-magnitude seismic event Tuesday morning

Many Greater Sudbury residents felt a mining-related seismic event at around 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Natural Resources Canada confirmed the 3.1-magnitude shock originated at Vale's Garson Mine northeast of Sudbury.

Mareike Adams, a seismic analyst with the Canadian Hazard Information Service, said it occurred at a depth of around 1.5 kilometres.

She said the seismic event was minor and wouldn't have caused any damage.

"We don't tend to see damage from, for example, natural earthquakes until around a magnitude 5.0," Adams said.

She added magnitude 5.0 earthquakes or higher are incredibly rare in northeastern Ontario.

"[There have] only ever been two recorded magnitude 5.0 events and they happened well over 100 years ago," Adams said.

Vale also confirmed Tuesday's seismic event.

"No one was injured during the event and we immediately implemented our internal seismic response protocol to ensure the safety of our workforce," Vale Canada spokesperson Danica Pagnutti told CBC News in an email.

Pagnutti said the mine will ramp up its operations following an inspection, and once local seismicity returns to background levels.

"Our emergency response processes are in place to ensure rigorous safety protocols are followed when seismic events occur," she added.