Today, the Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Larry Lehtinen, Executive Chairman and CEO of Tacora Resources Inc. (Tacora), announced the restart of Scully Mine in Wabush. Also attending the event was the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources; the Honourable Graham Letto, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment and MHA for Labrador West; Yvonne Jones, MP for Labrador and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade; Clementine Kuyper, Manager of the Innu Business Development Centre; and Ron Barron, Mayor of Wabush.
Approximately 260 positions are directly associated with site operations which will produce some six million tonnes of concentrate annually when fully ramped up.
The Provincial Government recognizes that meaningful Indigenous and community engagement is critical to effective resource development. Restarting Scully Mine demonstrates that by working together, we are able unlock our natural resource wealth creating safe, high-paying jobs and supply opportunities.
Mining the Future 2030 – A Plan for Growth in the Newfoundland and Labrador Mining Industry delivers on commitments in The Way Forward to strengthen the province’s economic foundation. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.
Quotes:
“Our government understands the tremendous potential for mineral resource development in our province, and we welcome long-term investments that maximize the value of our resources while securing bright futures for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Labrador West has long been known for its valuable iron ore deposits and for the tremendously hard working and skilled people who know how to mine it. As Tacora begins operations here, they become part of local communities and a regional economy that are thriving, just as we envisioned in our Mining the Future 2030 plan.”
Honourable Dwight Ball
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“It is great news for Labrador West and indeed the entire province that Scully Mine in Wabush is restarting. It means good, long term jobs returning to this vital mining region. As a province, we have initiated Mining the Future 2030 – a plan for growth in the Newfoundland and Labrador mining industry and the way forward on mineral development. The re-start of Scully Mine demonstrates the many benefits mining brings to the province as we work to achieve our Mining the Future goals. We welcome Tacora to the region and we hope for a long, safe and prosperous future for the company, its workers and communities.”
Honourable Siobhan Coady
Minister of Natural Resources
“I am very pleased that Tacora has reached this significant milestone in their efforts to restart the Scully Mine. I greatly appreciate the commitment that Tacora has exhibited throughout this difficult process and thank them for their persistence. The restart of this operation is tremendous for the people of Labrador West.”
Honourable Graham Letto
Minister of Municipal Affair and Environment and MHA for Labrador West
“We are extremely pleased to have the Scully Mine restart fully financed and to move forward with hiring the workforce and implementing the various commercial contracts and capital projects to bring the Scully Mine back to life. We are grateful to all the stakeholders involved in the Scully Mine restart. Special thanks go out to the political leaders of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec; the leaders at the United Steelworkers union; our valued partners at The Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Pointe-Noire (SFPPN) and the Port of Sept Isle; our long term strategic equity investors, Proterra Investment Partners, Aequor, Cargill and MagGlobal.”
Larry Lehtinen
Executive Chairman and CEO of Tacora.
“We are excited to welcome Tacora as the newest mining development in Labrador. They are committed to the region and its people. Their vision for the Wabush project is shared by the community and will derive jobs and opportunities for Labradorians. Labrador West continues to lead mining development in Newfoundland and Labrador and continues to be the largest export region for iron ore in Canada.”
Yvonne Jones
MP for Labrador and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade
“On behalf of the Innu of Labrador, I congratulate Tacora on achieving this important step. Innu Nation looks forward to cooperative implementation with Tacora of our Impacts and Benefits Agreement (IBA) and to continued cooperation on environmental protection measures. This IBA will provide both employment and business contracting opportunities to Innu Nation’s members and our partners.”
Gregory Rich
Grand Chief of Innu Nation
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Media contacts
Jason Card
Office of the Premier
709-729-3558
jasoncard@gov.nl.ca
Kathryn Summers
Natural Resources
709-729-0425
kathrynsummers@gov.nl.ca
Sabrina Hunt
Labrador West District Office
709-944-4881
SabrinaHunt@gov.nl.ca
Michael Twite
Tacora Resources, Inc.
218-259-3795
mike.twite@tacoraresources.com
Kevin Vianna
Office of Yvonne Jones, MP for Labrador
613-996-4630
Yvonne.jones.a1@parl.gc.ca
Donna Paddon
Innu Nation
709-899-5799
donna.paddon@kaskuan.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Timeline of Scully Mine and Tacora’s Involvement
Scully Mine, located in Wabush, was formerly owned by Cliffs Natural Resources who idled the mine in February 2014 and closed it in October of the same year.
In July 2017, Tacora announced that it had closed the acquisition of assets associated with the Scully Mine through the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process.
Tacora was released from environmental assessment in November 2017.
In May 2018, Tacora released an updated feasibility study in which it proposes to reactivate the Scully mine and mill.
On November 27, 2018, Tacora announced Scully Mine would be restarting.