ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY HEADLINESEnvironment and Sustainability
IOC Honored for Excellence in Sustainable Development
May 14, 2009 The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) has been selected as the recipient of the CIM/Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development for its C$110-million Tailings Management Project. The project, also known as "From Tailings to Biodiversity", reflects the sustainable development aim of balancing economic, social, and environmental objectives.
Introduced in 2007, the CIM/Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development promotes the Canadian minerals industry as an active seeker of sustainable solutions that engage and affect the Canadian public.
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"We are very proud of our Tailings Management Project: A C$110 million investment to better manage our tailings and restore the ecological and recreational value of Wabush Lake,” said IOC President and CEO Terence Bowles. “The project reflects a decade of work and consultation involving IOC, government agencies, technical experts, and the community.”
IOC has operated the Carol Lake Project in Labrador West since 1962. For years, tailings stored in a natural lake (Wabush Lake) colored the water red and produced fine sediment that covered the bottom of the lake. Bowles explained that IOC and its partners came up with a design concept reflecting the sustainable development aim of balancing economic, social, and environmental objectives. IOC worked closely with Bechtel through engineering and construction to final commissioning of the project in mid 2008. “Since then, the project has worked flawlessly and achieved what we set out to do,” said Bowles.
The non-toxic and chemically inert reclaimed tailings cover approximately 540 hectares. They have been sculpted into ponds, hills, valleys, and wetlands, and are suitable to support plants and wildlife in a new diversified terrestrial habitat.
Over the past decade, IOC has extensively reviewed its tailings management to ensure that operations complied with current regulations and also addressed local community concerns for the environment and the future of the lake and mine site.
IOC has also enhanced re-vegetation programs on the exposed tailings to suppress dust lift-off while also providing a diverse natural environment that is sustainable for future generations of birds, wildlife, and eventually people, when the mine closes and this area is returned to the community.
Implementation of this project and its contribution to sustainable development was recognized in 2005 when the North American Waterfowl Management Plan awarded IOC with the Great Blue Heron National Award for long-term contributions for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory bird populations.
The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is the largest manufacturer of iron ore pellets in Canada and its customer base covers North American, European, and Asian steel producers. The company operates a mine, concentrator and pelletizing plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Iles, Que. It also operates a 418-km railroad that links the mine to the port. IOC has approximately 2200 employees and its major shareholder and operator is the international mining group Rio Tinto, which has activities in more than 40 countries throughout the world.