MANAGEMENT

Bloom Lake on its way back

Champion Iron planning a March 2018 reopen for the once-abandoned operation

Staff reporter
Bloom Lake on its way back

Champion Iron subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore, which bought the complex and its rail assets last year, has spent more than US$350 million thus far and is projecting the mine will produce 7.4 million tons per year, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

It also inked a deal in August with Glencore for the purchase of ore over the coming decade. Glencore has already committed to invest $56 million in the revival of Bloom Lake. Additionally, Sojitz Corporation – which issued a $20 million loan for the project – will also buy up to 3mt/y from Quebec Iron Ore for at least five years.

Bloom Lake, located in northern Quebec, was last active in 2014; it was shuttered late that year by then-owner Cliffs Natural Resources as part of a larger strategy to remove operations from its active portfolio that were losing money. Cliffs had bought the mine for in 2011 for $4.9 billion.

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