End of the line for Sudbury’s Stobie Mine – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – March 11, 2017)

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Harshaw also said Vale still believe in its Sudbury operations.”Vale is
committed to our future in Sudbury,” he said. “Over the past decade, we
have invested $4.7 billion to modernize and upgrade our operations.

Vale plans to shut down its long-running Stobie Mine by the end of the year, affecting some 230 employees. “This is a necessary decision but a sad one,” Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President of Ontario Operations, Vale Canada Limited said on Friday. “Stobie has a rich history and has been integral to our success for more than a century.

“However, after more than 100 years of operation, the mine is approaching the end of its natural life. The low grades at Stobie are no longer economical to mine in today’s challenging price environment.”

Harshaw also said Vale still believe in its Sudbury operations.“Vale is committed to our future in Sudbury,” he said. “Over the past decade, we have invested $4.7 billion to modernize and upgrade our operations.

In this prolonged period of uncertainty in the base Mmetals market, we will continue to monitor economic conditions very closely and make disciplined operational decisions in the best long-term interests of our company, our employees and the community.”

Stobie Mine began as an open pit operation in 1890, with underground operations getting underway in 1914.

“It’s a difficult and sad day for our operation,” said Angie Robson, Vale Canada Limited Ontario Operations spokeswoman in Greater Sudbury. “We have been operating at Frood-Stobie for more than 120 years. Lots of our employees and community members, parents and grandparents have worked there over the years.”

Robson said the mine had become uneconomical due to several factors, the biggest being falling world nickel prices.

“There’s very low grades (of nickel) left there,” she said. “We’ve got low volumes and also low grades … At current prices, it’s uneconomical to mine there.” Should nickel prices improve substantially and it becomes economical again, it wouldn’t be (re-opening) out of the realm of possibility.”

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