Plan Nord bears fruit: Provincial initiative has been a key support for new Quebec projects – by D’Arcy Jenish (Canadian Mining Journal – October 2018)

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

In December 2014, financially strapped Cliffs Natural Resources announced the closure of its Bloom Lake iron mine – putting some 600 miners out of work and casting a dark cloud over the nearby town of Fermont, Que, located near the Quebec-Labrador border some 400 km north of Sept-Iles.

But one year later, the town’s fortunes took a turn for the better. Quebec Iron Ore (QIO), a subsidiary of Montreal-based Champion Iron, bought the mine, a railway spur line and dozens of mineral claims for the rock bottom price of $10.5 million.

By February of this year, QIO put Bloom Lake back into production – and 450 miners back to work – thanks in no small part to direct and indirect support from the Quebec government under its Plan Nord initiative.

The Quebec government made a direct investment of $50 million in Bloom Lake – giving it a 37.2% stake in a joint venture partnership with Champion. As well, the Caisse de dépôt loaned the company $100 million to get the mine and mill up and running. Then the government acquired Cliffs’ Pointe Noire port facility and infrastructure in the municipality of Sept-Îles and QIO became a limited partner in the corporation set up to manage and develop the port.

“We have a great partnership with the Quebec government,” says Michael O’Keefe, president and CEO of Champion. “I’ve worked closely with the people at Plan Nord.”

For the rest of this article: http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/features/plan-nord-bears-fruit/