Natural Resources
May 27, 2015

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Derrick Dalley, Minister of Natural Resources:

Vale Delivers First Shipment of Nickel Concentrate to Long Harbour

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to highlight the first major delivery of nickel concentrate from Vale’s operations in Labrador to Long Harbour. This is a significant milestone for Vale and their operations in Long Harbour.

On May 25, the Umiak 1 – an arctic class vessel – delivered about 2,000 tonnes of high grade nickel concentrate for Voisey’s Bay. Vale is bringing in this concentrate to be blended with nickel matte from their operations in Indonesia. By January 2016, Vale will have the necessary impurity removal circuits in place to switch production to 100 per cent nickel concentrate from Voisey’s Bay. Vale expects to receive several more shipments of concentrate by the end of the year.

Since construction of the processing facility in Long Harbour began, more than 30 million hours of employment have been generated with 80 per cent occurring in the province. There are an estimated 700 people supporting operations in Long Harbour. Congratulations to the work of the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who constructed this facility, including Vale management and skilled workers who are professionals with world-class expertise in the development of mega-projects.

Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased that the first load of concentrate has been delivered to Long Harbour and we are looking forward to the day that the plant will be processing 100 per cent nickel concentrate from Voisey’s Bay – a deposit considered to be one of the most substantial mineral discoveries in the country in the last 40 years.

Currently, the Voisey’s Bay operation in Labrador employs about 450 people. It is estimated that an additional 400 people will be employed at the mine and concentrator when underground mining begins. First ore is expected at the end of 2019. The underground mine will have a capacity of approximately 40,000 tonnes of nickel per year and will extend the life of Voisey’s Bay mine by at least another 15 years.

We thank Vale for their commitment to the province and to sustaining economic and employment benefits for many years to come. Thank you.

2015 05 27                              2:50 p.m.