Vale Base Metals has announced it is going to rejuvenate the historic Stobie Mine property with the creation of a new open pit nickel and copper mine.
And the work will be carried out using several local contractors who will employ USW Local 6500 members to carry out the work.
Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario Operations for Vale Base Metals, said the new mine will be a significant four-year project carried out at a cost of more than $200 million.
Vale's plan for the 10-million tonne nickel and copper deposit is to produce 300,000 tonnes this year and ramp up to 1.5-million tonnes per year by 2025, continuing at that pace until 2027-2028, according to a company spokesperson. The mineral by-products are cobalt and precious metals.
"Today we celebrate the signing of an agreement that marks the beginning of activity at Stobie Open Pit. And in some ways, it's actually a resumption, because there's a lot of history behind the Stobie site," Gilpin told the news conference.
He said the project will be carried out using the services of mining contractor Thiess, along with Indigenous businesses Z'Gamok Construction LP (ZCLP) and Aki-Eh Dibinwewziwin Limited Partnership (ADLP) and the United Steelworkers union.
"This is a $205-million contract representing a new era of co-operation and partnership," said Gilpin.
"And as evidence of how our strategy of strengthening Indigenous collaboration is taking shape, we believe that Indigenous participation and a significant development project is not only the right thing to do, but also essential for creating sustainable and inclusive growth," said Gilpin.
He said the new partnership is indeed different but it sends a message to the larger mining community.
"It's sending a strong message to Vale Base Metals and the whole mining investment community that we can make things happen, collaboratively, progressively and sustainably in Ontario here at Vale Base Metals," he said.
“So this is more than just a mining project. It's actually the beginning of a legacy of collaboration and respect and mutual benefit,” said Gilpin.
He added that the idea of creating an open pit at a former underground mining property is something the company might follow up at other Vale properties in the Sudbury camp.
"I think we tend to repeat success, right? So you know, the expectation here is that we're going to have a successful outcome. And we'll be looking at this model as something that we can repeat,” said Gilpin.
"But certainly we're going to learn from it. Certainly there will be things that, you know, we're confronted with that we’ll work through. That's normal. But we'll learn and we'll get better at it,” he added.
"I think from more of an overall volume perspective, we're continuing to look at our small surface deposit strategy as a means to sort of integrate some of the bigger projects that we have in front of us, over the next 10 years. So yeah, I'm expecting that this is the start of something that we can learn from and repeat the success that we're gonna see from it," Gilpin added.
He said some work has already commenced at the Stobie site and he anticipates that actual mining production will begin very soon.
Nick Larochelle, president of USW Local 6500, was also pleased with the announcement.
"We will work diligently with Vale and Thiess, ADLP and Z'Gamok to bring this production to life. It's a very exciting time. And we're looking forward to getting the first shovel in the ground and moving on to a sustainable future that will be successful and lucrative for every stakeholder," he said.
Larochelle said the new agreement is innovative in the sense that despite the job being run by contractor companies, Local 6500 workers will be on the job.
"We will have approximately 62 to 80 new members during the lifetime of this project. And currently, maintenance people will be our existing employees," said Larochelle.
Because the pit constitutes a new department at Vale, the production workers will have the opportunity to work in the pits in future jobs.
He said the union jobs will include excavator operators, dozer operators, haulage truck drivers and maintenance workers.
Len Gillis covers health care and mining for Sudbury.com.
