[Labrador Iron Trough] The Legacy Of The Rail Lives On, But Could It Be Built Today? – by Donna Yoshimatsu (Canadian Mining Journal – June/July 2009)

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

History is witness that the people who built the foundation for Canada’s iron ore industry back in 1950 faced near insurmountable odds that would have stymied even the most ambitious industrialist today.

History is witness that the people who built the foundation for Canada’s iron ore industry back in 1950 faced near insurmountable odds that would have stymied even the most ambitious industrialist today.

Among the likes of Timmins, Hollinger, Humphrey, movers and shakers of mining empires, sprung generations of entrepreneurs in search of a piece of history, drawn to the biggest railroad building project the continent had seen in half a century — the Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway (QNS&L).

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Canada invests $133 million in Tata Steel Quebec-Labrador iron ore project – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 30, 2016)

http://www.mining.com/

The Canadian province of Quebec will spend $133 million (Cdn$175 million) in an iron ore project majority owned by Tata Steel Minerals Canada (TSMC), a subsidiary of Indian giant Tata Steel.

The investment will advance development of the Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) property, which straddles the border between Quebec and Labrador, with mineral deposits on both provinces. The deal could see more than $400 million invested in the French-speaking province in the next two years, as iron ore deposits are tapped on that side of the border.

The financing includes equity stake of Cdn$125 million through Capital Mining Hydrocarbons Fund and a loan of Cdn$50 million from Investissement Quebec, acting as an agent of the government, TSMC said in a statement.

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IOC in Labrador on backburner with Rio Tinto shakeup, but not dead: analyst (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – June 27, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

A shakeup with the leadership of the company that owns the iron ore mining operation in western Labrador could mean a slowdown, but one analyst says it’s unlikely the Iron Ore Company of Canada will shut down.

Rio Tinto last week appointed Jean-Sébastien Jacques to take over the company as chief executive. The mining giant has also reorganized its operations, with iron ore operations taking a back seat to copper.

With an oversupply of iron ore expected for the next 10 years, Rio Tinto’s focus will be on its other commodities and resources, like copper and iron ore, in Western Australia.

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While iron-ore price crawls sideways, Champion readies for Bloom Lake revival – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – June 2, 2016)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

MONTREAL (miningweekly.com) – Despite the price outlook for the steelmaking ingredient iron-ore crawling sideways at best in 2016, TSX- and ASX-listed junior Champion Iron is preparing to restart its recently acquired Bloom Lake mine, near Fermont, Quebec, as soon as markets improve.

Under the leadership of chairperson and CEO Michael O’Keeffe, Champion subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore had on April 11 closed the C$10.5-million acquisition of Cliffs Natural Resources’ Bloom Lake assets and the Quinto claims, located opposite its flagship Fire Lake iron-ore project in the famous high-grade Labrador Trough mining district, straddling the provincial borders of Newfoundland and Quebec.

In contrast, Cliffs had in 2011 bought the mine for about C$4.9-billion from Consolidated Thompson. Under the acquisition, Quebec Iron Ore became responsible for environmental obligations that included environmental reclamation liabilities, which the Quebec government estimated to be about C$41.7-million.

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ArcelorMittal suspends Mont-Wright iron ore mine expansion in Quebec on weak market – by Susan Taylor (Financial Post – June 2, 016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

Reuters – TORONTO — ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, is suspending a major expansion of its Mont-Wright iron ore mine in northern Quebec due to poor market conditions, a spokesman said on Thursday.

The company, which employs some 2,500 workers at the mine, informed the United Steelworkers union this week that it will not start expansion work in June as planned. The project would have extended the mine’s lifespan by 15 years to 2045.

The decision was based on the project cost, “fairly high” mine production costs, low iron ore prices and global competition, said ArcelorMittal spokesman Paul Wilson.

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RPT-Australian miner eyes second bonanza with Canadian iron ore bet – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – May 31, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

May 31 An Australian mining veteran who made investors billions with a shrewd bet on coal in Mozambique is aiming for another big score with Canadian iron ore, even as a global gush of new supply threatens to depress already slumping prices.

Champion Iron Chief Executive Michael O’Keeffe is laying the groundwork to restart Bloom Lake mine in northern Quebec’s metals-rich Labrador Trough.

Champion bought Bloom Lake last year for only C$10.5 million ($8.04 million) after Cliffs Natural Resources, which paid $4.9 billion for it in 2011, put the unprofitable mine into creditor protection.

Champion will have its work cut out.

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Chance of new life as American buyer eyes Wabush Mines – by Glenn Payette (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – April 13, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

300 to 400 jobs if mine gets back in production

A United States company is looking to buy Wabush Mines with a view to having it re-opened within a year. Virginia-based ERP Compliant Fuels has submitted a bid to Cliffs Natural Resources which owns the mine but closed it in 2014.

“We are very interested and trying to close the transaction this spring,” said ERP co-founder Tom Clarke. Clarke said his company hopes to take full advantage of what the mine has to offer.

“The mine can produce up to six million metric tonnes, and employment would probably be somewhere between 300 and 400 people once we get back to the six million tonne production level.”

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Wabush mine pension fight continues, says Labrador West MHA – by Katherine Hobbs (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – March 11, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

Labrador West MHA, Graham Letto, says the fight continues for pensioners affected by the area’s downturn, but work will also have to be done to diversity the economy.

It’s been two years since Wabush Mines shut down and communities are struggling.

“We have stepped up to the plate with Wabush as a government … we’re working very hard to find some resolutions to the issues that exist up there, especially around the pension plans, finding a new buyer for Wabush Mines,” said Letto.

When the financially troubled mine, owned by Cliffs Natural Resources, closed in 2014, pension plans were underfunded by about $47 million dollars.

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[Plan Nord] Québec’s Incentive – by Brian Burton (Lexpert Special Edition – Mining – March 2016)

http://lexpert.ca/

Québec is investing in mining infrastructure as part of its “Plan Nord” but the payoff is not immediate

Québec’s Plan Nord reads a lot like the recipe for stone soup. Like the hungry travellers of legend, who offer up a “magic” stone to cajole villagers into providing the ingredients for a community meal, Premier Philippe Couillard has tossed iron ore, assorted other minerals and $2.7 billion worth of infrastructure funding into the pot. Now he’s waiting to see whether the private sector will thicken the broth with mining and energy projects worth $50 billion.

If it works, Plan Nord will deliver electricity, roads, rail lines, ports, airports, schools, hospitals and thousands of mining jobs to the vast area north of Québec’s 49th parallel, while generating billions in royalties and taxes for government coffers. The 20-year plan covers a sparsely developed area of 1.2 million square kilometres, twice the size of France, that’s laden with iron, gold, diamonds, copper, nickel, zinc, uranium and rare earth minerals.

In Couillard’s favour, lower energy prices and a weaker Canadian dollar help to reduce project costs, and Northern Québec also contains enormous hydro-electric potential. Importantly, the monopoly provincial electric utility, Hydro Québec, is owned by the provincial government.

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Bloom Lake sale ‘bodes well’ for Wabush Mines, MHA Graham Letto says (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – February 02, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

MHA Graham Letto says he’s optimistic about the future of Labrador West, and Wabush Mines, now that the Quebec Superior Court has approved the sale of Bloom Lake.

“I think it’s very positive and it bodes well for any future sale of the Wabush Mines itself,” Letto told CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning.

The shuttered iron ore mine in northeastern Quebec was bought by Quebec Iron Ore Inc., a subsidiary of Champion Iron Ltd., for $10.5 million.

“The fact that the courts and the [Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act] has approved the sale for $10.5 million —

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How this northeastern Quebec city is getting burned by the collapse in iron ore prices – by Damon van der Linde (National Post – January 9, 2016)

http://news.nationalpost.com/

SEPT-ÎLES, QUE. — At the corrugated-iron-walled congress centre in this northeastern Quebec city on a snowy late-November day, organizers of a chamber of commerce luncheon are turning away late arrivals.

They’ve run out of extra seating for members of the business community who have crowded into a dining hall decked out in Christmas cheer. But they’re not here for merriment. They’ve come to a presentation by Luc Dion, president of Sept-Îles’ economic development committee, about the region’s economy.

The gift many were hoping for ahead of the festive season was some relief from the economic crisis that has been grinding deeper into the region for the last several years, since iron ore prices fell from a high of nearly US$190 a tonne in early 2011 to a low of US$37 mid-December.

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Bloom Lake ‘bargain’ a long term investment, says iron ore expert (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – December 16, 2015)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/

The new owners of the Bloom Lake iron ore mining project in northeastern Quebec got a bargain, but a mining analyst says don’t expect production any time soon.

“We think it’s a great deal,” said Garrett Nelson Tuesday in an interview with CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning.

“We think this asset will have significant value, longer term.” Quebec Iron Ore Inc., a subsidiary of Champion Iron Ltd., said Friday it had agreed to pay $10.5 million for the mine, railway and mineral claims just across the border from Labrador.

It will also assume responsibility for nearly $42 million in environmental liabilities.

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Junior miner Champion Iron agrees to buy troubled Bloom Lake mine in Quebec – by Peter Koven (National Post – December 11, 2015)

http://business.financialpost.com/

A buyer has finally emerged for the troubled Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec, which was shuttered nearly a year ago after incurring massive losses.

Junior miner Champion Iron Ltd. has won an auction to buy the mine out of bankruptcy protection for $10.5 million. Champion, which has offices in Canada and Australia, will also assume $42.8 million of liabilities as part of the agreement.

“Bloom Lake is considered an exceptional opportunity for Champion, and one that would not have presented itself without the challenges of the current downturn in bulk commodities,” executive chairman Michael O’Keeffe said in a statement.

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Another blow for Labrador as IOC delays Wabush 3 project – (CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador – December 9, 2015)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador

The Iron Ore Company of Canada is blaming a weak outlook in the commodities market for a decision to delay development of the Wabush 3 project in Labrador West.

The project has been described as “critical” to the ongoing viability of the operation, but company officials said in a memo to employees Tuesday that it must limit capital spending in 2016.

With iron ore prices now at a 10-year low, and no signs of a rebound on the horizon, IOC officials said tough decisions have to be made.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government gave its approval for the new open pit mine in September, bringing some much-needed good news to an area hard hit by a prolonged slump in iron ore prices.

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Rio Tinto Now Has a Pair of 60-Year-Old Legal Problems in Canada – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – December 7, 2015)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Rio Tinto Group has found trouble on both ends of Canada. The global mining giant is being told it can’t skirt a pair of lawsuits that reach back to projects built in the 1950s, a quarter-century before it first set foot in Canada.

On a single day in October, the Supreme Court of Canada cleared the way for separate aboriginal groups to challenge the future operations of a Rio Tinto hydroelectric dam in British Columbia and an iron-ore mine, with accompanying railway and port, in Quebec and Labrador.

The rulings received scant notice during the final days of a dramatic Canadian election that brought Justin Trudeau and his Liberals to power.

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