July 28 decommissioning of the structure makes way for first stage of multi-year project
With the news that Vale’s Superstack is no longer operational, the nickel giant is now poised to start the demolition process on the 50-year-old structure.
On July 28, the company announced it had decommissioned the 1,250-foot (381-metre) stack at its Copper Cliff Complex in Sudbury during a period of regular maintenance.
In the broader context, taking the stack out of service represents a landmark moment of the environmental progress for Vale (formerly INCO) and the mining industry as a whole.
Elon Musk is practically begging nickel miners to boost production as potential future shortages would severely impact his ability to manufacture electric vehicles as the metal is a key component for the batteries on which Tesla Inc. depends.
Historically, nickel has always been a boom/bust metal due to the fact the world only produces about 2.1 million metric tonnes of the material a year as opposed to a more commonly used metal like copper at 20 million metric tonnes. And roughly only half of nickel production is of the Class-1 type that is used in batteries that run electric vehicles.
Currently, the cost of nickel is nearing a cyclical bottom, hence the reluctance of nickel miners to invest the possible near billion dollars it takes to bring on a new mine.
Signals Completion of Superstack Being Taken Out of Service
SUDBURY, July 28, 2020 – Vale has completed the final tie-in of the flue systems to the new 450’ (137 metre) Stacks and took its Copper Stack out of service at the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex during its planned maintenance period this month. With these project milestones achieved, Vale can complete the process of taking the Superstack out of service.
“Completing this process of taking the Superstack completely out of service is symbolic of Vale’s evolution towards reducing our environmental footprint with innovative and more sustainable Smelter operations ” said Dino Otranto, Chief Operating Officer for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations and Asian Refineries.
The two smaller and more efficient stacks will require far less energy to operate than the Superstack, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Vale’s Copper Cliff Smelter by approximately 40%. At the same time, Vale’s Clean AER Project will reduce particulate emissions by 40% and dramatically reduce SO2 emissions by 85%.
SUDBURY — Earlier this week, Tesla boss Elon Musk called for global mining companies to boost their production of nickel, a key element in making batteries for electric cars.
“Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way,” Musk said Wednesday, as the company announced second-quarter results. “Don’t wait for nickel to go back to some high point you experienced five years ago … Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel.”
Musk made the comments as Tesla is boosting its production of electric vehicles. Overall, demand for the type of nickel needed in electric car batteries grew by 28 per cent in 2019 alone.
Notwithstanding the historical hype of the Klondike Gold Rush in Canadian society, the two most important mining events in our history are the discoveries of the Sudbury nickel mines in 1883 and the Cobalt silver boom of 1903.
Both were the result of railroads – the construction of the Canadian Pacific to British Columbia in Sudbury’s case and the building of the provincial Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, going through Cobalt, which was for the colonization of northern Ontario.
But the similarities end there. Sudbury was built with U.S. capital and strategic technology. Cobalt was largely built and significantly financed by Canadian business and was the start of Canada’s global reputation as mine finders and builders. The two camps had much overlap but were also very distinct in their own rights.
Ohio-born businessman Samual J. Ritchie was the driving force who really started mining production in the Sudbury Basin with the founding of the Canadian Copper Company in 1886. A subsequent merger in 1902 with the New Jersey-based Orford Copper Company, which had the vital technology to separate the nickel from the copper in Sudbury’s complex ore, lead to the creation of the legendary International Nickel Company. (INCO)
Elon Musk is practically begging nickel miners to boost production as potential future shortages would severely impact his ability to manufacture electric vehicles as the metal is a key component for the batteries Tesla Inc. depends on.
Historically, nickel has always been a boom/bust metal due to the fact the world only produces about 2.1 million metric tonnes of the material a year as opposed to a more commonly used metal like copper at 20 million metric tonnes. And roughly only half of nickel production is of the Class-1 type that is used in batteries that run electric vehicles.
Currently the cost of nickel is nearing a cyclical bottom, hence the reluctance of nickel miners to invest the possible near billion it takes to bring on a new mine.
Musk is a multi-billionaire and his company stock is at an all time high. Instead of whining to the mineral industry to invest “their shareholder money” in new nickel production at a time of low returns here are some suggestions to calm his fear of future shortages:
The president of Sudbury’s Centre of Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) says he hopes a federal investment into the mining technology sector provides the catalyst to get more Sudbury technology products out on the international market.
If approved by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the $40 million into MICA – the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator – would help connect the innovators with the manufacturers, with an emphasis on developing environmentally friendly technology.
“I think some amazing work, amazing companies are coming out of Sudbury,” Charles Nyabeze said. “They’re actually advancing clean, smart technologies, but they do need help.”
The fate of a proposal by the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation seeking $40 million in federal funding for its Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) could be known soon.
The MICA initiative aims to connect regional mining clusters to cross-section innovation centres to create a national mining innovation ecosystem.
“Next week, we have a meeting with the government to tell us whether or not it’s going to get approved, to figure out the next step,” said Charles Nyabeze, CEMI’s vice-president of business development and commercialization Wednesday.
SUDBURY — Glencore in Sudbury has donated $40,000 to boost a special fund created by the United Way Centraide North East Ontario.
Dubbed the Local Love in a Global Crisis Community Response Fund, it now totals more than $300,000.
“We are grateful to Glencore and all of our supporters for their generosity and compassion during these uncertain times,” United Way executive director Mary Lou Hussak is quoted as saying in a news release Monday.
Mark Travers has been confirmed as Vale’s executive director of base metals. Travers has held the position on an interim basis since March 2019 after the resignation of CEO Fábio Schvartsman and three of the company’s senior executives.
The resignations were prompted by the collapse of a tailings dam in Brazil that killed 186 people.
“I am committed to leading the base metals’ business transformation to create a bright future on the strengths of our ongoing efforts to become a safe, reliable and sustainable operator,” Travers said in a statement from Vale.
(L to R) Anthony Keating, President and CDO of Foundations and Volunteer Groups at HSN, and Tannys Laughren, Executive Director Northern Cancer Foundation (middle), seen here accepting a $100,000 donation from Miners for Cancer President, Wayne Tonelli (right) and Miners for Cancer Vice-President Mandy Brosseau (back).
Sudbury, May 15, 2020 – Yesterday, Miners for Cancer announced a $100,000 donation towards the Northern Cancer Foundation’s COVID-19 Support Fund.
These funds will go towards the purchase of 58 new and very vital Infusion System + Full IV-EHR Interoperability pumps needed on the frontline to provide quality cancer patient treatment to our community’s most vulnerable patients.
“These pumps are primarily used in the cancer center to safely and efficiently deliver IV fluids, blood infusions, and drug therapies to patients receiving cancer treatment,” said Tannys Laughren, Executive Director, Northern Cancer Foundation. “Our current pumps were at end of life – and we desperately needed them to meet the Northeast Cancer Centre needs – even more so now in the current COVID-19 crisis.”
Mining giant Vale says seismic activity around its Sudbury-area mines is likely linked to its deep drilling operations, and it’s a possibility that more incidents will follow.
Natural Resources Canada recorded two earthquakes last week. A 3.6 MN (magnitude) tremor hit Creighton Mine Thursday morning, and a 3.0 MN quake forced Garson Mine to stop operations Friday night and all day Saturday.
According to Natural Resources Canada’s website, it’s unlikely that any quake that registers below 5 MN would cause damage above ground, though tremors were felt as far away as Lively.
A Kitchener-based startup has developed a new battery system for electrifying underground mining vehicles, and Sudbury is poised to play a key role in moving the technology toward commercialization.
Stacktronic has created a modular battery system that can be pieced together like Lego blocks to produce a battery of any size, any shape and any capacity, depending on the needs of the vehicle.
It’s a solution that could potentially save time and money for mining operations. It began as a capstone project for a group of mechanical engineering students in their final year studying at the University of Waterloo, noted Keith Teeple, one of the founders.
Sudbury, ON – Vale is responding to the Sudbury Food Bank’s call for financial support during the COVID-19 crisis, with a $100,000 donation to its Cash for Cans campaign. The donation is intended to support skyrocketing demand for food during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Vale has a long history of support for the Sudbury Food Bank,” said Danica Pagnutti, Corporate & Indigenous Affairs Specialist for Vale’s Sudbury Operations. “The Sudbury Food Bank is seeing new clients every day during this crisis and we really wanted to support the growing demand for their important community service.”
The Sudbury Food Bank is a central distributor of food to 44 food banks and meal providers across the City of Greater Sudbury. These agencies currently support 8,000-8,500 people per month and that number is expected to grow exponentially with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glencore said Thursday its Raglan nickel and Matagami zinc operations in Quebec will be on care and maintenance for the next three weeks. Nickel from Raglan is shipped to Glencore’s Sudbury operations, where it is processed. Operations in Sudbury will continue to run.
“The government of Quebec has ordered all non-essential businesses to close in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, our Raglan (nickel) and Matagami (zinc) operations in Quebec will be on care and maintenance for the next three weeks,” Glencore said in a statement. “In Ontario, the government has issued a similar decree, but mining has been designated an essential business and therefore our assets can continue to operate.”
The company said it is halting operations at its smaller mines around the world due to government restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus but added its larger operations were not materially impacted.
