On June 19, 2020, Vale announced that the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in the Labrador region of Canada has completed its maintenance period and entered the planned maintenance phase, which is the first step towards restarting operations in early July. The expansion project related to the Voisey's Bay mine will also restart in early July.

Before resuming production as planned, Vale monitored the development of the COVID-19 pandemic for three months. The company expects the Voisey's Bay mine to resume production in early July and reach full production by early August.

The Voisey's Bay nickel mine ranks third in the world in terms of scale, following the Sudbury nickel mine in Canada and the Jinchuan nickel mine in China, and is now the third largest sulfide copper-nickel mine globally.

The World Health Organization recommends detecting positive cases and suspected cases of the virus through testing, followed by isolation, tracking, and treatment. Vale follows this recommendation and collaborates with a private laboratory in Newfoundland and Labrador to conduct widespread PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing for employees entering the mine. Enhancing testing capacity helps to identify and track potential COVID-19 infections early and prevent their spread to others. So far, no confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been found at the Voisey's Bay mine.

Conducting large-scale virus testing is a complement to the strong screening measures already in place, which can enhance awareness of the number of potential infections and the transparency of this information, allowing the company to take immediate action to prevent widespread transmission. During the planned resumption of mining operations, Vale has engaged in extensive consultations with stakeholders from the government, indigenous communities, and public health departments to seek their advice and support. Throughout the large-scale testing process at the laboratory site, Vale will continue to communicate with all stakeholders to ensure the benefits of large-scale testing are realized.

Vale is firmly committed to the safety of its employees and the communities where it operates, and will continue to collaborate with local health authorities to implement world-class measures to combat COVID-19.

In 2019, the Voisey's Bay mine produced 25,000 tons of copper and 35,400 tons of nickel.

Source: China Ferroalloy Network, Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network

Original link: https://www.xianjichina.com/special/detail_449260.html
Source: Xianji Network
Copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reproduction, please contact the author for authorization; for non-commercial reproduction, please indicate the source.