Vale Base Metals is leaning toward placing its Thompson, Man, nickel operations up for sale.
The global nickel and copper miner announced Jan. 23 that it’s launching a strategic review of its northern Manitoba asset to consider all options, including a potential sale of the mine and its 250-acre exploration property,
Vale Base Metals said it’s reviewing the competitiveness of its entire mining portfolio in Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland-Labrador, Indonesia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Japan. The company has an eye to devote more resources into the growth of copper at its Carajas iron ore mine in northern Brazil.
A report from an undisclosed external advisor, hired to lead the Thompson review, is due out sometime during the middle of this year.
In pumping the tires of Thompson, Vale called it a proven nickel deposit with considerable upside over a 135-kilometre-long nickel belt. The former INCO made the ore body discovery in 1956 after extensively exploring northern Manitoba following the Second World War.
Thompson is a two-mine operation, 740 kilometres north of Winnipeg, employing 900. The complex produced 10.5 kilotonnes tonnes of the company's finished nickel for a 12-month period up to the third quarter of 2024, said a news release.
"Our stated objective is to build a leading energy transition metals business, and this strategic review is part of the process we are undertaking to optimize our portfolio to ensure global competitiveness and unlock the value potential from our considerable copper and nickel endowment," said CEO Shaun Usmar in a statement.
He suggested the next owner should be prepared to put money into the drill bit.
"Our activities and investments in Thompson have generated significant value for northern Manitoba for more than 60 years. This process is aimed at seeing if a new owner may be better suited to invest the capital and resources needed to unlock the vast mineral potential of this district-scale asset to continue that legacy, while delivering value for our investors."
