OPENING the door to NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR/Voisey's Bay breaks ground this summer

摘要

Thirty-five kilometres southwest of Nain lay the Reid Brook, Discovery Hill, Eastern Deeps, and Ovoid deposits. The Ovoid is a bowl-shaped deposit located close to the surface, well suited to recovery by open pit mining methods. It has proven ore reserves of nearly 32 million tonnes with a higher than average nickel concentration at 2.82 per cent. Copper is also present at 1.63 per cent and cobalt at 0.12 per cent, respectively. Pre-strip-ping of the open pit mine is almost complete and mining activities began in May. Rex Gibbons was Minister of Mines and Energy for Newfoundland and Labrador when Inco purchased the Voisey's Bay property. He has maintained an interest in the project from his present position as senior partner at Jaques Whitford. "Voisey's Bay was the biggest claim-staking rush this province has ever seen," Gibbons stated. "2005 is a milestone year for mining in Newfoundland and Labrador." The procurement and construction phases ran so smoothly that VBNC now finds themselves in the uncommon position of being six months ahead of schedule. Construction programs, managed by a joint Inco/VBNC team, got an early start and saw very few obstacles. SNC-Lavalin/BAE-Newplan, who is responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction management duties, knowledgable selected qualified contractors for services and construction activities. Deliveries arrived early and the hiring and training programs have contributed by providing a pool of well-trained and well-prepared workers. Phil du Toit, managing director of VBNC, is pleased with the early schedule. "The concentrator is now more than 80 per cent complete," he confirmed. "All equipment has been purchased and the final installation will be complete by August."