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Canada's Sherritt mining company said Thursday it was leaving Cuba, where it mines cobalt and nickel, for fear of US sanctions affecting its operations.

"Sherritt has suspended its direct participation in joint venture activities in Cuba, effective immediately," the Toronto-based firm said in a statement, adding that it was "taking steps to repatriate Sherritt's expatriate employees in Cuba."

The company has not yet been formally designated under US President Donald Trump's sanctions on the island, but believes that "such a designation could occur at any time."

On May 1, the US leader imposed further sweeping sanctions on the Cuban economy via an executive order.

"The mere issuance of the Executive Order itself creates conditions that materially alter the Corporation's ability to operate in the ordinary course," Sherritt's statement added.

The company's Moa mine was until now one of Cuba's largest industrial projects and an important source of revenue for the government.

The mine produces tens of thousands of tonnes of cobalt and nickel each year -- critical minerals used in battery and alloy production.

Sherritt in February said it was halting its operations in Cuba due to a fuel blockade imposed by Washington in January.

Already in the throes of economic stagnation, the blockade worsened the situation for Cuba, with only one Russian oil tanker making it through since then.

Supply shortages and power cuts have become the norm, and tourism -- once Cuba's most lucrative industry -- has plummeted.

Trump has repeatedly mused about taking over the island, which lies 145 kilometers (90 miles) from Florida and has been under a nearly continuous US trade embargo since Fidel Castro led a communist revolution there in 1959.