Goodbye, Superstack: Vale set to dismantle this Sudbury landmark – by Silvia Pikal (CIM Magazine – October 31, 2024)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

At 381 metres, the Vale Base Metals—formerly Inco—Superstack, which is part of the company’s Copper Cliff smelter complex, was Canada’s tallest freestanding structure when it was completed in1972. It later lost that distinction to the CN tower, but today it still stands as the tallest chimney in the Western Hemisphere.

After Vale announced in September that work will begin to bring down the Superstack once it finishes dismantling its smaller Copperstack in 2025, people sent in stories to Vale about family members who were part of the construction for the behemoth structure. Locals who feel attached to it are asking: won’t the horizon of Sudbury, a place known to the global mining industry as Nickel City, feel empty once its iconic Superstack comes down?

Read more

Ontario chamber boss bullish on Sudbury, Northern Ontario – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – October 28, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

‘What is produced here is essential to our economic future,’ Daniel Tisch Echevarría says, referring to the mining sector

Northern Ontario and Sudbury are keys to the province’s economic prosperity, the president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says. Daniel Tisch Echevarría made the observations last week during the 129th annual general meeting of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.

“When you sit in Toronto you see a lot of data,” Tisch said. “When asked if businesses across the province are confident in themselves they say yes.

Read more

Monument will pay tribute to stack, says Vale Base Metals (Northern Ontario Business – October 28, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Thousands of Sudburians voted on trio of options following superstack’s decommissioning

Vale Base Metals said it will build a monument to its famed superstack, following feedback from the Sudbury community.

In an Oct. 25 social media post, the Brazilian nickel miner said that was the preferred option that emerged after thousands of community members voted on three potential options to pay tribute to the decommissioned stack.

Read more

As we build a vision of Canada, let’s make sure it has more Canada in it – by Dan Breznitz (Globe and Mail – October 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Any follower of Canadian news is overwhelmed by the amount of doom and gloom about Canada’s economic future. Rightly so. We should not only be worried, but also forcefully demand that Canadian businesses finally embrace innovation to significantly improve productivity, and that our government focus less on symbolic politics and more on putting the country back on track.

I would be the first to admit that in this series I have been at the forefront of this choir of despair, documenting our alarming decline, how systemic and deep-set our problems have become, how unproductive and lacking in innovation our business sector is, and how our government is structured in a way that ensures it is not fit for purpose.

Read more

Greater Sudbury to study the well-being of mining communities – by Staff (Sudbury Star – October 9, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Federal government will pay for $150,000 report

The City of Greater Sudbury will get $150,000 from the federal government to study how to improve well-being in Northern Ontario’s mining communities.

“We know that Northern Ontario is home to a world-class mining and mining supply and services sector and this study will allow us to identify our competitive advantages and share lessons learned with fellow OECD members, Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre said in a release.

Read more

Global delegates converge on Sudbury to chart a path forward in mining – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – October 11, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Australian mayor shares his community’s experience of growth in the ore-rich Pilbara at the OECD conference

The City of Karratha in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is a hive of mining-related activity. Known for its rich iron ore deposits, the region has a population of just over 24,000 people. Karratha alone generates a whopping $20 billion annually in gross domestic product (GDP).

Put in other terms, each person working in the region contributes $375 per hour to the GDP; that’s in comparison to the national average of $56 per hour. “That’s how important our region is to the national economy of Australia,” said Daniel Scott, mayor of the City of Karratha, while speaking in Sudbury this week.

Read more

Sagamok Anishnawbek takes the plunge into underground mining – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – October 3, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Z’gamok Enterprises acquires majority ownership of Sudbury contractor Legend Mining

New ownership is at the helm of Legend Mining. Z’gamok Enterprises Inc. (ZEI) has acquired a 51-49 per cent controlling interest in the Sudbury mining contractor. The deal, a year in the making, was finalized Sept. 4.

Diving into underground mining services had been something the organization has been thinking and strategizing about for a decade. ZEI, an economic development organization owned and operated by Sagamok Anishnawbek is located south of Massey on the north shore of Lake Huron. It runs three businesses that collectively employ 130.

Read more

Industry leaders converge in Sudbury for annual mining conference – by Staff (Sudbury Star – September 29, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Several big companies planning to launch or expand operations in city

Sudbury’s role as a vital mining hub was highlighted during a three-day conference last week, and the city was proud to be part of it. “The conversations we’ve been having this week at MINExpo confirm what we’ve always known – Greater Sudbury is a critical player in the global mining industry,” said Mayor Paul Lefebvre in a release. “Hearing first-hand from these industry leaders that we are vital to their expansion plans is a testament to the strength of our community and the sector.”

Lefebvre and city representatives met with a number of key industry leaders, including original equipment manufacturers, potential national and international investors, as well as local organizations, to explore collaboration and expansion opportunities.

Read more

Laurentian on its way to repairing reputation, says new president – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Northern Ontario Business – September 18, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

‘We’re on the right path’: It has been nearly two years since Laurentian University exited insolvency restructuring, and the university’s new president says LU has come a long way

Laurentian University has come a long way to repairing damage to its reputation in the nearly two years since it exited insolvency restructuring in late 2022, said the university’s new president. Lynn Wells, who became Laurentian’s 12th president and vice-chancellor in April, sat down for a one-on-one interview with Sudbury.com this week.

She also spoke about the many daunting tasks she has ahead of her to a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce audience on Sept. 17, as well as a meeting of Laurentian’s senate held the same day.

Read more

Sudbury students with ‘rocks in their blood’ get together after 50 years – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – September 16, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Laurentian geology graduates from 1974 gather in Wahnapitae to share memories and renew friendships

You may have attended a high school reunion; the reasons may be complex and often include renewing lost friendships or just bringing back youthful memories. For some, it is a reoccurring annual, five-year or even decade theme on the map of life.

What if it was your university graduating class? The program that set you off on a career and shaped your life? It was a cool wet day off the backroads of Wahnapitae, but it didn’t quench the spirit of the event. Dwayne Car, who hosted the get-together, had set up a tent and fire pit to chase away the chill.

Read more

Magna Mining makes a bold $33-million move in Sudbury – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury mine developer will put its local knowledge to the test in asset deal with KGHM

Magna Mining, a fast-moving Sudbury mining startup company, has taken a giant leap forward by acquiring a working copper mine in the Sudbury basin along with a raft of promising properties from Polish-headquartered miner KGHM International.

Magna, known locally for its redevelopment of the former Crean Hill mine, has signed an agreement to acquire the operating McCreedy West copper mine and a stable for exploration and development properties across the Sudbury basin in a $33.3-million cash-and-share deal.

Read more

Taking down Vale stacks in Copper Cliff will be slow and not exciting to watch – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – September 7, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

But it will be expensive — perhaps as much as $100 million by 2030, top executive says, as they must be taken down almost brick by brick

Sudbury’s tallest structure is slated to come down, and when it does the moment will be bittersweet not only for residents and workers but even the mining brass who have concluded it can no longer stand. The Superstack “has been with the city for more than 50 years, and there are emotional attachments to landmarks,” acknowledged Gord Gilpin, head of Ontario base metals with Vale.

“It’s internationally recognized with Sudbury, with the company, and with the mining industry.” Many older residents recall when the 1,250-foot cloud-tickler was erected and “we have our own stories of the history behind it,” said Gilpin.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: Copperstack and superstack dismantling marks final chapter of $1 billion Clean AER project (September 4, 2024)

Stan Sudol Photo

(Photo by Stan Sudol From 1990s)

Sudbury, Ontario (September 4, 2024) – Today, Vale Base Metals (VBM) announces it is moving forward with the dismantling of the copperstack and superstack at the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex.

These structures have been decommissioned following the successful completion of the approximately $1 billion Clean Atmospheric Emissions Reduction (Clean AER) Project, which was a cornerstone initiative in our ongoing, long-term environmental stewardship program for Sudbury. The dismantling of the copperstack and superstack marks the final chapter of this ambitious initiative.

Read more

Sudbury’s mining operations impress US Consul General – by Hugh Kruzel (Sudbury Star – August 23, 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

‘There is a lot of interest from US companies here,’ Baxter Hunt says

Visiting dignitaries are always asked why they are in Sudbury. This week, The Sudbury Star met with Baxter Hunt, US Consul General, during his multi-day tour of the area. Hunt had met Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre at PDAC in Toronto earlier this year. Lefebvre invited him to visit.

“I promised him I was going to get up here soon,” said Hunt, who started in this role in the fall of 2023. It is a three-year assignment. Back in July, the Hunt family drove up to Lake Temagami. He called the area “spectacular” and since he has heard of Killarney, he seems keen to experience more of the north.

Read more

Vale Base Metals names new CEO – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 23, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Former Barrick, Xstrata executive Shaun Usmar to steer Brazilian miner’s nickel, copper operations

Shaun Usmar, a mining executive with more than three decades of global experience, has been selected CEO of Vale Base Metals. He succeeds Deshnee Naidoo, who stepped down last March. Usmar will assume his new role at the end of this year and will be based in Toronto.

Vale Base Metals is a spinoff of Brazil’s Vale SA and runs its global base metals assets. It is one of the world’s largest producers of nickel, copper and cobalt with Canadian operations in Sudbury, Thompson, Man, and Voisey’s Bay, Labrador.

Read more