For an island that’s commonly referred to as “The Rock” it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that mining has played an important if sporadic role in the economic, social, and cultural history of the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mining is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest and oldest industries, and a major contributor to the economy of the province, especially in rural areas. More than 15 mineral commodities have been produced or mined in the province.
https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
The Labrador Aboriginal Training Partnership (LATP), an agreement between
Vale and the Labrador Inuit and Innu of Nunatsiavut, Nunatukavut and Innu
Nation has been instrumental for recruiting and training Aboriginal workers
from the region. Employment numbers from these Aboriginal groups at Voisey’s
Bay is touted as being 50% of the overall workforce.
One of the largest nickel deposits in the world has been given a new lease on life. Vale’s Voisey’s Bay property in northern Labrador, operating as an open pit mine since 2005, was nearing the end of its production life.
Instead, innovations in partnerships and technology will allow Vale to go underground and develop two new orebodies that will extend the life of Voisey’s Bay to 2034.
First ore production on the new underground phase of Vale’s Voisey’s Bay project was announced on June 11, with full production capacity slated to be reached by August.
http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/
June 11 marked the milestone first production of ore from the underground expansion project at the Voisey’s Bay nickel-cobalt mine owned by Vale SA (NYSE: VALE). The mine is located on the north cost of Labrador, about 35 km south of Nain, Nfld.
Underground production is expected to extend the life of the mine until at least 2032. Two separate deposits – Reid Brook and Eastern Deeps – have been developed. At peak production, they will produce 40,000 tonnes of nickel in concentrate yearly, or a processing rate of 2.6 million t/y.
The expansion also increases economic participation by the local Innu and Nunatsiavut Inuit communities. Indigenous employment has more than doubled to about 500 people. Sixty-five per cent of all procurement contract were awarded to indigenous-owned businesses.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
Fortescue has ambitious plans to become carbon-neutral through renewable and hydrogen projects
It may seem like an incongruous initiative: a major Australian company built on iron ore, sending top officials on an around-the-world hunt for green energy opportunities.
They have visited nearly 50 countries, in the midst of a roiling global pandemic. The aim? To lead the global energy transition away from carbon to greener options.
The company has already signed a number of deals to do feasibility studies in other countries, including Brazil, Indonesia and Afghanistan. And that company from Down Under is now eyeing potential opportunities in Labrador.
https://investingnews.com/
Canada is one of the world’s leading mining nations, ranking among the top five global producers for minerals such as gold, potash, cadmium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and many others.
In 2019, the country’s total mineral production reached C$48.2 billion. While Ontario and Quebec represent two key mineral exploration jurisdictions within Canada, one major province is often overlooked by investors looking to gain a share of the country’s precious metals sector: Atlantic Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador.
The discussion around mining in Eastern Canada is often overshadowed by the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt that spans across the border between Ontario and Quebec, but Newfoundland offers one of the most extensive mining histories in Canada, with small-scale mining dating back to the 1770s, expanding into a major industry by the 1860s.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
As automakers unveil electric vehicle after electric vehicle, and innovation surges around solar panels and other renewable energies, an industry with a long history in Newfoundland and Labrador hopes to position itself to supply more of the materials needed for the green transition.
“It’s a very opportune time for the province. Mining is essential for a low-carbon future,” said Ed Moriarity, the executive director of Mining Industry NL, the province’s industry association.
Not every ore is created equal in the eyes of innovators, as demand focuses on extracting what are sometimes termed “critical minerals,” sometimes labelled “strategic” ones.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
An agreement that will see the Kami proposed mining site in Labrador sold to a company with an operational mine across the border could see raw ore head to Quebec for processing, says MHA Jordan Brown.
Brown, a New Democrat who represents Labrador West in the House of Assembly, said he is cautiously optimistic but worried that economic benefits from what mining experts call a world class iron ore project may not stay in the region.
“This close proximity does bring some concern that some benefits will not come back to the people of Labrador, and may potentially benefit Quebec workers over Labrador workers,” Brown said.
Newfoundland is often overlooked by investors when searching for investment opportunities in the gold sector. The prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt that runs through Northern Ontario and Quebec understandably attracts major interest, as does the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia with its many gold mines. Regions such as Newfoundland are off to the side of people’s vision.
Although not often on investor’s radar screens, Newfoundland has an extensive mining history. Small-scale mining dates back to the 1770’s, but it became a major industry only in the 1860’s, with the discovery of major copper at Notre Dame Bay and the Wabana iron ore deposits on Bell’s Island.
In 1905 a major lead-zinc-copper deposit was discovered near the town of Buchans in central Newfoundland. It was difficult to mine because there were no known milling processes that could adequately separate the mineral sulphides.
Vale (NYSE: VALE), the world’s top producer of nickel and iron ore, is fine-tuning details to reopen its Voisey’s Bay open pit nickel mine and concentrator in Canada, next month.
Full capacity at the northern Labrador-based operation should be reached in August, the Brazilian mining giant said on Thursday.
Vale initially placed Voisey’s Bay mine on care and maintenance for four weeks as a precaution amid the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic. It later extended the measure for up to three months, leaving an ongoing mine expansion project on hold.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
Safety of remote Indigenous communities top of mind, company says
Brazilian mining giant Vale is placing its Labrador nickel mine under “care and maintenance” protocols for the next four weeks amid concerns about COVID-19.
The remote mine, just south of Nain on the northern coast of Labrador, has about 900 workers on site. It is accessible only by air, and has employees from all over Canada.
No employees have tested positive for the virus, but the company said it was taking steps to keep it that way.
Maritime Resources (TSXV: MAE) is considering processing feed from its Hammerdown gold project at the Nugget Pond gold plant owned by Rambler Metals and Mining Canada. Both the project and the plant are located in Newfoundland, in Canada’s Atlantic region.
In order to evaluate the possibility of using the plant, Maritime entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Rambler that includes an exclusivity period of 12 months for Maritime to assess the facility and complete a feasibility study with the option to negotiate a purchase agreement.
The gold plant is a small section of the total Nugget Pond concentrator plant and is not used to process ore by Rambler.
https://www.northernminer.com/
In November 2019, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s Newfoundland and Labrador branch named Sokoman Minerals (TSXV: SIC) the Prospector/Explorer of the Year for its 100%-owned Moosehead gold property.
Moosehead, 150 km to the northeast of Marathon Gold’s (TSX: MOZ) Valentine Lake deposit in central Newfoundland, sits along the extension of the Cape Ray-Valentine Lake–Alder Zone structural trend.
Tim Froude, Sokoman’s president, optioned the 24-sq.-km project from Altius Minerals (TSX: ALS) in November 2017, and completed the earn-in for a 100% stake in February 2019. The company has drilled 88 holes (18,600 metres) since 2018.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
On Feb. 15, 1965, a retired miner named Rennie Slaney sat down at his kitchen table in St. Lawrence, Nfld., and typed out a five-page, single-spaced document that, as Linden MacIntyre writes in The Wake, would reverberate “across the land.” The 58-year-old Slaney, who could no longer work because of severe health problems, laid out what had happened in recent decades to the people of his small community on the Burin Peninsula.
Addressing his testimonial to a special committee appointed by the government of Premier Joey Smallwood, Slaney mentioned a miner who died in hospital that very day, while another lay nearby, “just awaiting his time.”
Slaney himself, having worked in the mines for 23 years, was suffering from chronic bronchitis, obstructive emphysema, infective asthma and “a usually terminal heart disease caused by lung failure.” The man could step forward because, MacIntyre tells us, he had nothing left to lose: “His lungs were shot.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
All that glitters is not gold, but people in southwestern Newfoundland are hoping a future gold mine could be right on their doorstep. However, they still have plenty of questions about the plan by Matador Mining and about the impact it would have on the environment and traditional activities, such as hunting and fishing.
Matador has asked government for approval to develop a mine, mill and processing operation for gold ore in the area of Isle aux Morts. As part of the province’s environmental assessment process, the company held two public consultations last week.
Port aux Basques Mayor John Spencer said the impact on wildlife topped the list of questions from the nearly 70 people in attendance. “‘How would this impact the moose and caribou that frequent the area?’ ‘How would this impact the migratory birds?’ ‘What about the salmon?'” said Spencer.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/
Workers staying on floating hotel while work on new living quarters underway
The quest to mine nickel from beneath the ground at Voisey’s Bay in Labrador is picking up steam with more than 430 workers on site. Joao Zanon, the project director for Vale, said the team ran into challenges in the early stages of the project during the harsh northern Labrador winter.
Once the snow melted and summer arrived, the project ramped up. A little over 10 per cent of the underground development is now complete, with a goal to be operational in the first half of 2020.
“We’ve picked up the development quite a lot in the past months and the speed will continue to increase as we … are able to mobilize more people to work underground,” Zanon said.
