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Editorial: Mine extension announcement good for remaining Vale employees (Thompson Citizen – July 7, 2021)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/

Last week’s announcement that Vale Manitoba Operations is spending $150 million on the first phase of a mine extension and exploration project in Thompson is good news, even if it won’t have much effect on the size of the local workforce.

The money being spent to construct a new ventilation raise, extend power distribution underground and increase backfill capacity so that mined areas can be filled in and mining start in new areas faster will go mostly to contractors, Manitoba Operations general manager Gary Annett told the Thompson Chamber of Commerce June 30, but will also extend the mine life by 10 years and result in up to 30 per cent more production.

That provides stability to the people who survived the job-shedding of the past few years at Vale and, perhaps, the possibility of more jobs down the road if nickel prices take off in concert with electric vehicle production and sales.

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Vale pumping millions into Thompson mining activities – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – June 30, 2021)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

The future of the mining industry in Manitoba received a major boost on Tuesday as Brazilian mining giant, Vale, said it is investing $150 million that will extend current mining activities in Thompson by 10 years.

But that will just be a prelude to what could turn into close to $1 billion of new investment over the next decade to significantly expand mining operations in the northern Manitoba city into 2040.

The Phase 1 work is already underway upgrading ventilation, building increased backfill capacity and additional power distribution that should be completed by 2023.

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Sudbury Vale Strike impacting battery market – by Staff (Sudbury Star – July 2, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Analyst senses labour dispute could extend for months

A strike at Vale’s Sudbury operations is taxing a nickel market that’s key to powering electric vehicles. The job action by USW Local 6500 is now entering its second month, with no new contract talks planned.

Bloomberg News notes that Sudbury is one of the world’s few producers of nickel pellet, a form used to produce alloys for aerospace, electronic and nuclear industries.

Production at Vale’s northeast Ontario operation halted when unionized workers went on strike on June 1. The disruption is driving consumers to tap battery-grade nickel briquette as an alternative.

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Vale spending $150 million on first phase of Thompson mine extension project – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – June 29, 2021)

https://www.thompsoncitizen.net

Vale is spending $150 million on the first phase of the Thompson mine extension project, which will extend current mining activities by 10 years, the company announced June 29.

“Aggressive” exploration drilling of known orebodies is also continuing, which could mean ore extraction could continue well past 2040, Vale says.

Work to be completed during the first phase of the project includes construction of new ventilation raises and fans, increasing backfill capacity and adding power distribution infrastructure. Vale expects the changes to improve current production levels by 30 per cent.

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Strike at Vale’s Sudbury Operation Strains Battery Nickel Supply – by Mariana Durao and Yvonne Yue Li (Bloomberg News – June 29, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A strike at Vale SA’s Sudbury operations in Canada is taxing a nickel market that’s key to powering electric vehicles.

Sudbury is one of the world’s few producers of nickel pellet, a form used to produce alloys for aerospace, electronic and nuclear industries. Production at Vale’s northeast Ontario operation halted when unionized workers went on strike on June 1. The disruption is driving consumers to tap battery-grade nickel briquette as an alternative.

That shift is increasing competition for briquette, pushing up North American premiums, or extra charges consumers pay on top of nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange, as stockpiles of the metal dwindle. Inventories of briquette, the main form of nickel stored at LME warehouses, have fallen 9% since a peak in April and are now at the lowest in more than a year.

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With nickel reserves running out, Sudbury is an expensive place for Vale to do business – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 23, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Vale COO implores striking Steelworkers to help get costs under control, find solutions to keep mining in the Sudbury basin

Vale’s Dino Otranto claims it can’t be business as usual, not when the Sudbury base metal mining operations he oversees “occupy the highest cost position of any mines on the planet.”

With operations at a standstill heading into the fourth week of a strike by Steelworkers Local 6500, Vale’s chief operating officer for its North Atlantic Operations and Asian Refineries took to the web on June 17 for a virtual town hall meeting, spelling out the shape the business in the Sudbury basin and the “tough conversations” that need to take place.

The web event was attended by 956 registered attendees for the sessions. Management only addressed a portion of the 115 questions sent in. “The past is not the recipe to sustain this, moving forward,” Otranto said. “And there is no consultant that’s going to come in and give us the silver bullet.

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Vale, Local 6500 ‘remain apart on important issues’ – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – June 16, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Clawbacks to benefits and pensions are the main sticking points for Local 6500, union officials said Tuesday — a day after members resoundingly shot down a new offer from Vale.

“Times are good right now in Sudbury — in fact they’re very good,” said Myles Sullivan, assistant to USW District 6 director Marty Warren, during a press conference.

“Now is not a time to be forcing us out on strike, demanding concessions. So yeah, we’re disappointed and frustrated, but ready to roll up our sleeves and get back to the bargaining table. It takes two sides to do that and we’re ready.”

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Sudbury Local 6500 rejects latest offer from Vale – by Staff (Sudbury Star – June 15, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

A new contract offer from Vale to its striking workers was rejected by a strong margin Monday. Eighty-four per cent of USW Local 6500 members participated in a vote Monday evening, with 87 per cent opposing the revised deal.

The union’s own bargaining team had called the offer “concessionary” and did not recommend it to members. In a release, Vale expressed disappointment that the union had taken this stance.

“The company was in active negotiations with Local 6500 when it was informed of this position,” the miner said. “Vale’s second offer addresses issues of concern that we heard from our employees, including wages, pensions and post-retiree benefits for new hires.”

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Voisey’s Bay underground expansion delivers first ore – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – June 14, 2021)

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.

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After two collapses, a third Vale dam at ‘imminent risk of rupture’ – by Juliana Ennes (Mongabay.com – June 14, 2021)

https://news.mongabay.com/

A dam holding back mining waste from Brazilian miner Vale is at risk of collapsing, a government audit says.

The same company was responsible for two tailings dam collapses since 2015 that unleashed millions of gallons of toxic sludge and killed hundreds of people in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

The retired Xingu dam at Vale’s Alegria iron ore mine in Mariana — the same municipality where a Vale tailings dam collapsed in November 2015 in what’s considered Brazil’s worst environmental disaster to date — is at “serious and imminent risk of rupture by liquefaction,” according to an audit report from the Minas Gerais state labor department (SRT), cited by government news agency Agência Brasil.

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Vale’s Otranto says it’s ‘disappointing’ bargaining committee recommends rejecting second offer – by Staff (Sudbury.com – June 14, 2021)

https://www.sudbury.com/

The head of Vale’s North Atlantic Operations said today he’s disappointed the Steelworkers Local 6500 bargaining committee is unanimously recommending striking members reject a second offer from the company.

The union’s bargaining committee announced today it is recommending to its 2,500 members that the new offer be rejected, as it includes “similar take-aways with minimal improvements” over the initial offer.

On June 1, Local 6500 overwhelmingly rejected an initial contract offer, with 70 per cent of members voting against the offer on a voter turnout of 87 per cent.

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Vale, Steel remain in talks as workers picket – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – June 2, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Vale workers took to the picket lines Tuesday for the first time in a dozen years after rejecting a tentative deal reached by their union and the company.

“Our membership spoke and they are bringing the message back that concessions are not acceptable,” said Kevin Boyd, vice-president with USW 6500. “And very clearly, a lot of it is in benefits.”

Among the more unpopular changes outlined in the new five-year contract are the removal of retiree health benefits for any new hire and the elimination of over-the-counter drug coverage (except for life-sustaining medication).

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Vale workers in Sudbury reject contract offer and go on strike – by Erik White (CBC News Sudbury – June 1, 2021)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Picketlines are up at Vale’s mines, mill and smelter in Sudbury as the union representing 2,400 workers have voted down a tentative agreement with the mining giant.

United Steelworkers Local 6500 says in a statement on its website that 87 per cent of members cast ballots in a ratification vote Monday night and 70 per cent rejected the deal the union bargaining committee was recommending.

“Thank you for your overwhelming support to return us to the bargaining table,” reads the statement. “We are newly energized with this result and are looking forward to bringing your message to the company to let them know our work is not complete.”

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Clock ticking for Steel, Vale negotiators – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 28, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Steelworkers local representing Vale workers is hopeful a strong, multi-year deal can be obtained for its members as negotiations on a new contract continue this week.

“We’re looking for something to compensate us for the work we’ve done over the last year, which has created record profits in some areas,” said a union official who asked not to be named. “We’re expecting to be treated with the care and understanding they say they offer.”

The union agreed last spring to an unusual one-year contract, effective June 1, due to the economic uncertainties brought on by COVID-19.

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Steelworkers seek gains in new contract – by Staff (Sudbury Star – May 25, 2021)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

This will be a critical week as negotiators for Steelworkers Local 6500 and Vale try to work out a new contract by May 31. That’s when the current labour contract expires.

USW Local 6500 represents more than 2,500 production and maintenance workers in mining, milling, smelting and refining at Vale’s Sudbury operations.

Vale, with almost 4,000 workers, is Sudbury’s largest employer. In Sudbury, it operates five mines, a mill, a smelter and a refinery from one of the largest integrated mining complexes in the world. Sudbury products include nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver.

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