Teaming up to solve a municipal and mining problem with a sustainable, cost-saving approach has earned Vale and Terrapure recognition for Project of Year
SUDBURY, ONT., May 15, 2019 – Terrapure Environmental® (Terrapure) and Vale Canada received an Environmental Leader Award for Project of the Year for their new, sustainable option for managing biosolids during winter months, when farmland application is prohibited and storage is complicated.
Instead of incinerating or landfilling nutrient-rich organics, Terrapure worked with Vale to develop a program to apply treated biosolids to its Central Tailings Area for reclamation and revegetation. It was the first project of its kind in Ontario.
The Environmental Leader Awards recognize excellence in projects that add significant value to energy, environmental and sustainability management efforts. Winners are awarded based on scores from a panel of distinguished judges with extensive experience in environmental management.
“The program is new for the province, so we’re excited to see other mines follow Vale’s lead in identifying biosolids as an innovative, cost-effective reclamation option,” said Jeff Newman, Director of Business Development at Terrapure Organics Solutions. “This approach is a real win-win. It provides an off-season biosolids management alternative and Vale gets a highly effective tailings revegetation solution.”
Terrapure and Vale Canada partnered at the Copper Cliff tailings area in the Greater Sudbury Area. Vale had been successful in using conventional methods to remediate inactive tailings sites, but all had been costly with varying levels of success. By using biosolids, Vale was able to greatly offset conventional reclamation costs, which can include extensive soil or tailings amendments, and still achieve the results they were looking for.
“Biosolids are a new and innovative approach to tailings reclamation for the mining industry,” said Glen Watson, Superintendent of Reclamation and Decommissioning of Vale’s Ontario Operations. “We’ve had excellent plant growth yield under very challenging conditions where they have been applied in Vale’s Central Tailings Area. The success of this program is something we can all be proud of and learn from in the future.”
To date, the project has diverted over 100,000 tonnes of biosolids from disposal, and 175 hectares of mine-impacted lands are now able to provide a natural habitat.
While the overall caliber of entries was exceptionally high this year, judges agreed that Vale and Terrapure’s beneficial re-use project demonstrated impressive results. One judge noted: “I am always happy to see positive environmental projects that are also viable from an economic standpoint in helping solve problems.”
This is the third consecutive year Terrapure has been honoured with an Environmental Leader Award. Previously, the company was recognized for its innovative centrifuge technology and oil recycling program.
The award was publicly announced on May 14, 2019, at the Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference in Denver, CO.
For more information about biosolids programs, visit Terrapure Organics Solutions at www.terrapureenv.com/service/organics-solutions/. For more information on the Environmental Leader Awards, visit ww.environmentalleader.com/product-project-awards-2019/
About Vale
Vale is one of the world’s largest mining companies, present across five continents. Vale is also the world’s largest producer of nickel, with our Base Metals business headquartered in Toronto. Our Canadian operations produce copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver. Vale’s operations in Sudbury are home to one of the largest integrated mining complexes in the world with five mines, a mill, a smelter and a nickel refinery. For more information, please visit: www.vale.com/canada.
About Terrapure Environmental
Terrapure is a leading, vertically integrated provider of essential environmental and industrial services in Canada for industrial, commercial and institutional end markets, including the manufacturing, mining, construction, refining and petrochemical, waste management and remediation, institutional, transportation, pulp and paper, utilities and oil and gas sectors. Headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, we employ over 2,100 people and operate an integrated network of over 70 locations, coast to coast.
At Terrapure, we’re changing waste for good. We see both economy and environment as invaluable, understanding one cannot be prioritized at the expense of the other. We focus on reducing disposal, recovering value and restoring industrial operations to peak efficiency. We bring safe, compliant and reliable solutions to environmental challenges in virtually every industry sector – all without compromising the bottom line.
For more information, visit www.terrapureenv.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Danica Pagnutti, Corporate Affairs
Vale Canada Ltd., Ontario Operations
(705) 682-7165
danica.pagnutti@vale.com
Jen Reeves, Content Strategist
Jan Kelley
905.631.3943
jreeves@jankelley.com
Greg Jones, Managing Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Terrapure Environmental
905.315.2229
gjones@terrapureenv.com