NEWS RELEASE: Vale suspends operations at venerable Stobie Mine

SUDBURY, March 10, 2017 – Vale announced today that after more than 120 years and more ore produced than any other mine in the history of Sudbury, Stobie Mine will be placed on care and maintenance later this year.

“This is a necessary decision but a sad one,” said Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President, Ontario Operations. “Stobie has a rich history and has been integral to our success for more than a century. However, after more than 100 years of operation, the mine is approaching the end of its natural life. The low grades at Stobie are no longer economical to mine in today’s challenging price environment.”

Stobie began as an open pit operation in 1890. Underground operations started in 1914. With more than 375,000,000 tonnes produced over the years, more ore has been mined out of the Frood-Stobie complex than any other mine in the Sudbury Basin. The suspension of operations at Stobie will result in a reduction of approximately 4-6 kilotonnes of nickel and 5-8 kilotonnes of copper production annually.

Read more

Sudbury mine engineer writes kid’s mining book – by Laura Stradiotto (Sudbury Star – March 9, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A Sudbury mining engineer has penned a children’s book as a way to promote diversity in the workplace and encourage more women to enter the industry.

Theresa Nyabeze works as a front line supervisor at Vale and is president of Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) Sudbury. She is also part of a small demographic who make up the mining workforce. According to a 2014 study by Global Mining Standards and Guidelines, women account for only five to 10 per cent of the international mining workforce and only seven per cent serve on board positions.

In response to this trend, Nyabeze started her own business, Diversity STEM, with a mandate to create products and avenues to promote careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The first project launched under her business is the illustrated children’s book, Underground! My Mining Adventure.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: CEMI Celebrates 10 Years of Achieving Mining Innovation for the Global Metal Mining Industry

(L to R): Zachary Mayer, Manager, Mine Technical Services, Kidd Operations – Glencore Canada; Moderator: TVO’s The Agenda Steve Paikin; Rick Howes, President & Chief Executive Officer, Dundee Precious Metals; Mayor of Greater Sudbury Brian Bigger; MP Paul Lefebrvre; Deputy Minister for MDNM, David de Launay; Fred Stanford, President & CEO, Torex Gold Resources Inc; MP Marc Serre; Douglas Morrison, President & CEO, CEMI; Conor Spollen, Chief Operating Officer, Canada & UK, Vale Canada Limited; and Dominic Giroux, President, Laurentian University.

https://www.miningexcellence.ca/

Toronto, ON (March 6, 2017) – CEMI (Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation) celebrates its 10-year anniversary of delivering innovations to the global mining industry to a packed house with a series of presentations and an Industry-led Panel at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2017 annual conference. The celebration highlighted CEMI’s results and dedication to delivering technical solutions to the mining industry through innovation and commercialization.

Mark Cutifani, CEO, Anglo American, remarked “I was honoured to be part of a team comprising representatives from industry, government and academia that helped create CEMI. Under the leadership of Douglas Morrison, CEMI has continued to evolve to support the needs of the industry.

The most important transition has been the focus on innovation at the high end of the Technology Readiness scale. CEMI continues to work with a wide range of mining service and supply companies, academic institutions, SMEs, OEMs and start-ups to bring new products and services to the market and I am honoured to have been part of their genesis.”

Read more

Vale, Glencore back in the black – by Staff (Sudbury Star – February 24, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Two of Sudbury’s most important employers reported healthy profits on Thursday. Brazilian miner Vale SA said it made a net profit of US $3.98 billion in 2016, while Glencore made US $1.99 billion. The results are a dramatic turnaround for both companies, which have struggled with low commodity prices and high debt in recent years.

Vale reported on Thursday net profit of $525 million for the fourth quarter, falling short of analyst expectations but reversing a heavy loss in the period a year earlier thanks to record output and higher iron ore prices.

A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast net profit of $1.8 billion in the quarter, but the world’s largest producer of iron ore fell short on account of impairments totaling $2.9 billion, principally on fertilizer and nickel assets. In the same period of 2015, Vale reported a net loss of $8.6 billion.

Read more

Contract for Mine Millers ‘a tough one’ – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – February 1, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Union representatives were confident a tentative deal with Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations would be approved Tuesday as production and maintenance workers packed a conference room at the Radisson Hotel to place their votes.

And indeed it was, by a 79 per cent margain. The four-year deal, recommended by the bargaining committee for Mine Mill Local 598 Unifor, will see a two-percent wage increase over the length of the contract and a couple of tweaks to dental and drug plans, but no major concessions.

“This one was a tough one, I have to say,” said chief negotiator Richard Paquin, a veteran of four previous rounds of bargaining. “With the price of nickel hovering around $4.20 or $4.30 (per pound), versus what it was four years ago, around $8, it makes bargaining a lot different.”

Read more

Sudbury INO, Mine Mill have contract – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 31, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Glencore and its production and maintenance employees in Sudbury have reached a tentative collective agreement. Workers will vote on the deal Tuesday. The negotiations team for UNIFOR Local 598, Sudbury Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Union, is unanimously recommending ratification of the tentative agreement.

The current contract expires Jan. 31 at midnight. Peter Xavier, vice president of Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Sudbury INO), a Glencore company, praised the agreement in a release.

“We are very pleased that the parties have reached a tentative agreement that is competitive, fair and represents a balance of interests in securing a longer term future for Sudbury INO, particularly at this time of prolonged market uncertainty,” Xavier said.

Read more

Throwback Thursday: A tribute to the Superstack – by Callam Rodya (Sudbury Northern Life – January 26, 2017)

 

https://www.sudbury.com/

Earlier this week, mining giant Vale made headlines when it announced that, beginning in the year 2020, it will decommission and dismantle the Superstack and replace it with two smaller stacks.

The 381-metre smokestack, the second tallest in the world, has been an iconic symbol of Sudbury since the 1970s and, on our website, many readers expressed their sadness that the towering chimney may soon vanish from the landscape.

Read more

Sudbury Superstack out of service by 2020 – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – January 25, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Superstack, which has dominated the Sudbury skyline since 1970, will soon be no more.

Vale announced plans Tuesday to decommission the iconic smokestack, which rises some 381 metres from the company’s smelter in Copper Cliff, by 2020. The Superstack will be replaced by two smaller and more efficient stacks, about 137 metres each, and eventually torn down.

“This certainly marks an end of an era and a new chapter in our journey as a responsible and sustainable operation,” said Stuart Harshaw, vice-president of Vale’s Ontario operations, during a press conference at Dynamic Earth on Tuesday.

“This is very historic for our operations and for Sudbury. We know a lot of people view the stack as an icon, something you see coming over the hill or coming up from the south.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: VALE ANNOUNCES SUPERSTACK WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE

(L to R) Dave Stefanuto, Vice-President of Vale’s North Atlantic Projects and Base Metals Technology; Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association; Paul Lefebvre Member of Parliament for Sudbury; Glenn Thibeault, Ontario Minister of Energy and Member of Provincial Parliament for Sudbury; Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President of Vale’s Ontario Operations; Marc Serrè, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt; Al Sizer, Deputy Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury; Rick Bertrand, President of United Steelworkers, Local 6500; Mike McCann, Director of Milling & Smelting for Vale’s Sudbury Operations.

Emissions to be reduced to the point that the Superstack will no longer be required

SUDBURY, January 24, 2017 – Due to the significant reduction of atmospheric emissions at Vale’s operations in Sudbury, Ontario, today Vale announced its plans to take the iconic 1,250 foot (381 metre) Superstack out of service by the second quarter of 2020. The Superstack will be replaced with two smaller and more efficient 450 foot (137 metre) stacks.

“We are proud to be reducing emissions to a point where the Superstack is no longer required,” said Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President of Vale’s Ontario Operations. “Taking the Superstack out of service is a great symbol of how far Vale has come in terms of shrinking our environmental footprint and making Greater Sudbury a better place to work and live.”

Stuart Harshaw, Vice-President of Vale’s Ontario Operations.

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%.

Read more

Vale may replace its Sudbury Superstack – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 24, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury’s most conspicuous landmark may soon disappear from the skyline, or at least puff its last plume of smoke.  CTV News is reporting Vale intends to take the 381-metre (1,250-foot) Superstack out of service by 2020 and replace it with two stacks about a third its size, stretching just 137 metres (or 450 feet) high.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said she couldn’t confirm the plan, but said the company would be making an announcement on Tuesday regarding environmental improvements and the future of the Copper Cliff icon.

The retirement and potential demolition of the Superstack has long been rumoured; two years ago, Kelly Strong, then the vice-president of Vale’s Canada and UK operations, told business leaders in Sudbury that the Brazil-based mining company was conducting an analysis to determine if it should replace the 1,250-foot chimney.

Read more

[First Nickel mining deaths] ‘Waiting for justice’ (Part 2 of 2) – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 23, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Accent: Union, families feel criminal charges warranted through Westray provision

The silence was gut-wrenching in a Sudbury courtroom last year for the families of two men attending preliminary proceedings into charges in the deaths of their loved ones May 6, 2014 at Lockerby Mine.

The families of Norm Bisaillon and Marc Methe attended court after eight charges were laid against mine owner First Nickel Inc. and five were laid against Taurus Drilling Services by the Ministry of Labour.

Bisaillon, 49, and Methe, 34, were killed by a fall of ground at FNI’s Lockerby Mine, just hours after they contacted an FNI employee to discuss a concern about the area in which they were working, their families say.

Read more

[First Nickel mining deaths] Sudbury Accent: Grieving families wait for answers (Part 1 of 2) – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – January 21, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

On Sunday, May 4, 2014, Norm Bisaillon was considering his options. Bisaillon, 49, was employed by Taurus Drilling Services, but was thinking about leaving Sudbury for another job. He told partner, Romeena Kozoriz, “I’m going to be going to the Yukon.”

Bisaillon was working for Taurus at First Nickel Inc.’s Lockerby Mine. He had 23 years’ experience at several companies.

“He never, ever was afraid to work in a place, OK, and he worked in South Africa where there’s no safety, there’s nothing,” said Kozoriz of Bisaillon’s 18-month stint there. “He wasn’t as concerned (there) for his safety as Lockerby.”

Read more

Ontario New rules govern water in mines, seismic activity – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 14, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Companies must do more to control the build up of water in mines and to record and act on seismic events. They are part of amendments to Regulation 854 Mines and Mining Plants of the Occupational Health and Safety Act went into law on Jan. 1.

The regulatory changes relate to risk assessments, water and traffic management programs, and recording of seismic events. It’s up to Ontario employers to ensure they are complying with the requirements set out by the Ministry of Labour.

“The updated regulation requires Ontario mines to conduct risk assessments for all hazards,” says Mike Parent, mining director at Workplace Safety North, Ontario’s mining health and safety association. “Risk assessments are the building blocks for successful health and safety management systems.

Read more

Ontario Labour minister touts mining changes – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – January 13, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Ontario launched a mining health and safety review in the wake of tragedy, but provincial labour minister Kevin Flynn had a good-news story to tell during his stop in Sudbury on Thursday. Flynn visited the Nickel City to mark the implementation of new requirements to improve health and safety of workers in mines, which became effective on Jan. 1.

“Today was really an announcement of what we have been able to accomplish so far and we’re seeing the fruits of what was done in the mining review a few years back, when everybody had a sense of optimism, like ‘It looks like we’ve done a good job here; let’s start implementing the recommendations,’ ” Flynn, the MPP for Oakville, said on Thursday afternoon, shortly before speaking at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce lunch.

New requirements the minister highlighted on Thursday include:

Read more

Sudbury’s SNOLAB gets $28.6 million – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 10, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

A Sudbury-based cutting-edge, awarding-winning physics experiment has received a $28.6-million funding boost. SNOLAB, located deep inside Vale Ltd.’s Creighton Mine, is among 17 research facilities receiving support through Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Initiative fund.

The Major Science Initiative fund aims to secure and strengthen state-of-the-art national research facilities, enabling Canadian researchers to undertake world-class research, contribute to technology development and drive innovation.

The funding announced Monday will sustain scientific excellence at SNOLAB and ensure the facility maintains a leadership role in the global deep underground research community, the .Canada Foundation for Innovation said.

Read more