ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A proposed spinoff of base metal assets by Vale will have no bearing on the Brazilian corporation’s work in Newfoundland and Labrador, a representative of the company says.
Roberto Damasceno, head of Newfoundland and Labrador operations with Vale, told SaltWire Network that the company's operations in the province would not be affected by the potential spinoff.
A subsequent emailed statement from the company said Newfoundland and Labrador is a core asset for Vale and a “major part of our growth plans with the transition to underground.”
News of the spinoff came from Eduardo Bartolometo, Vale’s chief executive officer, who said at a mining summit on Oct. 21 the company was considering separating the copper and nickel operations from its iron ore business because of growth in the base metal market.
Bartolometo said the plan is to expand the base metal divisions of the company as large as the overall company is today and to eventually take it public.
Expansion well underway
The Voisey’s Bay mine, just south of Nain, has been in operation since 2005 and has been expanding into underground mining for the last few years. The company confirmed earlier this year it had signed a long-term deal with Tesla to provide Class 1 nickel to the electric car manufacturer from its Canadian facilities and had also signed a deal to provide nickel to Northvolt AB, a Swedish battery manufacturer.
The expansion to underground mining at Voisey’s Bay, first announced in 2013, is expected to produce 40,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate annually when it hits peak production. The company began the move to underground in 2018 and it first produced ore in 2021.
Damasceno, who spoke at the Mineral Resources Review 2022 conference in St. John's this week, said the expansion is 78 per cent complete, with a goal to move into production in 2023. He said Vale plans to have 1,000 employees at the mine by next year, and the expected life of the mine is until 2035, with other exploration targets being tested.
Damasceno said at the conference that the Newfoundland and Labrador operations, which produce cobalt, copper and nickel, have some of the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world for an operation of its type, and that is an advantage the company has over competitors in the electric car battery market.
“We truly believe that our partnerships and new contracts will be very strong in the next couple of years,” Damasceno told SaltWire. “We are a unique operation because of our GHG emissions. The carbon footprint, that’s the most desirable characteristic of the product. Not the chemical composition itself, the carbon footprint. I believe that Vale Newfoundland and Labrador, Voisey’s Bay, will be one of the biggest players in the market.”