Vale – Republic of Mining

Vale and Glencore team up on electric mining vehicle safety – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – September 23, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://www.sudbury.com/

Big Sudbury miners realized safety goals could be better achieved by working together than tackling problems alone

Sudbury’s two large mining companies are working together on the transition to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to make it safer to operate those vehicles on surface and in underground mines.

The partnership between Vale Canada and Glencore was revealed at the Maintenance, Engineering and Mine Operators Conference in Sudbury held in Sudbury this week. This was one of several sessions that were held in the Innovation and New Technology category.

Vale Indonesia embarks on $8.6bn nickel projects with Chinese firms – by Erwida Maulia (Nikkei Asia – September 14, 2022)

September 15, 2022

https://asia.nikkei.com/

JAKARTA — The Indonesian unit of Brazilian mining giant Vale is embarking on three nickel processing projects worth a combined $8.6 billion with partners including Chinese battery materials producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and potentially U.S. automaker Ford Motor.

Vale Indonesia on Tuesday signed a preliminary agreement for the latest of the three projects — all on the island of Sulawesi — with Huayou. It comprises a plan to develop a nickel smelter with high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) technology near Vale Indonesia’s major operations in Sorowako, South Sulawesi province.

Sudbury miners look to fill the critical minerals demand and supply void – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – May 30, 2022)

May 30, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Looming battery electric vehicle demand has Glencore on a metals recycling kick

As much as Ontario is ready to reap the rewards of the anticipated boom in battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the next 10 years and beyond, the move to go green is not as rosy as it might seem.

That was revealed during the two-day BEV conference held at Science North in Sudbury to explore the future of the BEV industry. On the first day of the conference, it was revealed the province has a virtual treasure trove of all the right minerals — nickel, lithium, cobalt, and copper — right here in Northern Ontario.

Conference highlights Sudbury’s role in green transportation – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 27, 2022)

May 27, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Mines electrifying own fleets while supplying ingredients for broader battery market

As they produce the material to electrify traffic on highways and streets, mining companies are increasingly using the same green technology to power their own subterranean fleets.

“We have a responsibility to keep pace with what is happening above-ground,” said Alex Mulloy, BEV program lead with Vale, at a conference Wednesday that drew together a wide range of players in the growing EV scene. Projected on a screen behind him in the Vale Cavern at Science North was a massive green haulage truck the company recently acquired for use at a local operation. It weighs 42 tonnes, but can run without a drop of diesel.

Tesla inks secret multi-year nickel supply deal with Vale – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 30, 2022)

March 30, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Electric vehicle giant Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is said to have secured a multi-year deal with Vale (NYSE: VALE) for the supply of nickel, one of the key ingredients in the batteries that power EVs.

The yet to be disclosed agreement, reported by Bloomberg News, will see the Brazilian miner supply nickel produced in Canada to the EV maker, which has spent the past year signing pacts with several producers of battery metals.

Devil Copper: War and the Canadian Nickel Industry, 1883–1970 – by Scott Miller (National Defence Canada – Winter 2019)

March 29, 2022

http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/

Located in the heart of northeastern Ontario, the city of Sudbury is often referred to as the ‘Nickel Capital’ for its historic relationship with this particular metal. Indeed, by the eve of the First World War, it had become the world’s leading producer of nickel, and by 1950, its share of the global supply peaked at 95 percent.1

Also known as ‘devil copper,’ worldwide demand for nickel remained strong throughout much of the 20th Century, largely as a result of its far-reaching military applications. While the citizens of Sudbury are generally well aware of this mining legacy, others may not be as familiar with the significance of nickel in Canadian political and military history. This is hardly surprising. As renowned historian J.L. Granatstein once asserted, there is a lack of “…serious scholarship on Canada’s industrial [war effort],” including its mineral and mining sectors.2

NEWS RELEASE: MINING IN GREATER SUDBURY REGION CONTRIBUTES $3.3 BILLION IN GDP (Ontario Mining Association – March 24, 2022)

March 24, 2022

Over 50% of the gross output by Ontario’s mining industry comes from Sudbury

SUDBURY MARCH 24, 2022: A new report, State of the Ontario Mining Sector, published by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) in partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, demonstrates the majority of regional economic contributions from mining in Ontario occurs in the Sudbury region, with total annual economic contributions in 2019 of approximately $7.5 billion in gross output and $3.3 billion in GDP.

“The opportunities for the Ontario mining industry in Sudbury have arguably never been greater than they are now. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, faces increasing geopolitical uncertainty and as the race to halt climate change accelerates, the region is primed to continue contributing meaningful solutions, while capitalizing on rising global demand for green and critical minerals,” stated Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association.

The Drift: Trees, bees, fish and seeds: Vale’s biodiversity initiatives helping to recharge Sudbury’s landscape – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – March 22, 2022)

March 22, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Modest greenhouse in city’s Copper Cliff neighbourhood is at the heart of unique reclamation program

On a cool, mid-winter morning, the outside temperature in Copper Cliff, just outside of Sudbury, has dipped to -10 and a fresh coat of newly fallen snow is blanketing the area. But inside the greenhouse owned by nickel miner Vale, it’s a balmy 29 degrees.

It’s rare for international mining companies to have greenhouses listed among their assets, but from the glass-walled facility, nestled at the end of a cozy street in a residential neighbourhood, Vale has happily been churning out thousands of tree seedlings annually since the 1950s.

Why Northern Ontario remains mining central: Investment, innovation fuel growth in Sudbury-North Bay mining cluster – by Norm Tollinsky (Canadian Mining Journal – March 19, 2022)

March 22, 2022

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

This year’s annual U-Haul Growth Index, which tracks the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a Canadian city, ranked North Bay, Ont., as the country’s leading growth city for the second year in a row with Sudbury following close behind in third place.

Covid-19 and skyrocketing housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area certainly had something to do with it, but both cities owe much of their appeal to the economic impact of northeastern Ontario’s mining cluster.

Vale’s big nickel gamble paying off, experts say – by Staff (Sudbury Star – March 9, 2022)

March 9, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

London Metal Exchange, meanwhile, takes emergency measures to halt trading in nickel on Tuesday

An unprecedented surge in nickel prices fueled by the war in Ukraine is turning a once-sputtering portfolio of mines into prized assets, Bloomberg News said Tuesday.

In the 2000s commodities supercycle, Brazilian iron ore giant Vale SA made a $17 billion bet on a metal used mainly to make stainless steel, the agency noted. The purchase of Canadian nickel miner Inco Ltd., announced in 2006, was part of then-CEO Roger Agnelli’s goal of turning Vale into a diversified global heavyweight at a time of seemingly insatiable Chinese demand for raw materials.

Return of Totten Mine comes at a good time – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – February 22, 2022)

February 23, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Price of nickel is soaring

Resumption of operations at Totten Mine comes at an opportune moment, with highly coveted nickel trading at more than US$11/pound. “We need all five (Vale) mines producing efficiently,” said Nick Larochelle, president of United Steelworkers Local 6500.

“The price of nickel right now is in a sweet spot. If it goes much higher, smaller producers will come online and that will add more nickel to the market, so we’re looking to keep our mines efficient and keep the price in that neighbourhood.”

Sudburians benefitting from strong nickel price – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 29, 2022)

February 1, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The higher nickel prices of late bode well for the local economy, as bonuses paid to miners typically spill into the community. “That money is spent buying a new dishwasher, or renovating a little area in your home,” said Kevin Boyd, vice-president of Steelworkers Local 6500, which represents about 2,500 workers at Vale.

“When you have that many families getting a couple thousand bucks, or whatever it is, that’s good for local business, absolutely.” A perk also goes to the roughly 800 workers at Glencore, represented by Unifor, when the market is strong.

Deadly Mining Disaster Still Tests Vale Three Years Later – by Alistair MacDonald and Samantha Pearson (Wall Street Journal – January 29, 2022)

February 1, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/

Mining company ponders its metals future as costs from Brumadinho continue to rise—along with tensions with locals, regulators and investors

NOVA LIMA, Brazil—Three years after Vale SA’s Brumadinho disaster, the fallout from the dam collapse that killed 270 people still looms large over the mining giant.

Costs related to the incident have continued to rack up, Brazilian authorities have been slow to permit further mining amid safety concerns, simmering tensions between the miner and locals have resulted in a shower of lawsuits and some investors say it is too soon to reinvest in the company.

Sudburians recall how the city banded together to weather the 1958 Inco strike – by Vicki Gilhula (Northern Ontario Business – December 24, 2021)

December 24, 2021December 23, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Just days before Christmas in 1958, some 14,000 Sudbury miners and their families got the news they had been praying for: the three-month strike at Inco was over. Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers Local 598 president Mike Solski announced an agreement had been reached with Inco.

A three-year contract and a six-per-cent wage increase over three years was offered. This amounted to pennies on the hourly wage at the time of less than $3, but union leaders considered the settlement a victory.