Raglan Mine

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Raglan Mine
Location
Raglan Mine
Location in Quebec
Location Nunavik
Province Quebec
Country Canada
Coordinates 61°41′15″N 073°40′41″W / 61.68750°N 73.67806°W / 61.68750; -73.67806Coordinates: 61°41′15″N 073°40′41″W / 61.68750°N 73.67806°W / 61.68750; -73.67806
Production
Products Nickel
Owner
Company Xstrata Nickel
Website Xstrata

Raglan Mine is a large nickel mining complex in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, Canada. It is located approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Deception Bay. It is owned and operated by Toronto, Ontario based Xstrata Nickel (formerly Falconbridge Ltd.), a division of Swiss-based Xstrata plc. The mine site is located in sub-arctic permafrost of the Cape Smith Belt, with an average underground temperature of −15 °C (5 °F).[1]

Transportation and accommodations

The complex operates the Kattiniq/Donaldson Airport 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the mine site.[1] There is a gravel road leading from the mine site to the seaport on Deception Bay. It is the only road of any distance in the province north of the 55th parallel. As the complex is remote from even the region's Inuit communities, workers must lodge at the mine site, typically for weeks at a time. From the mine site employees are flown to Rouyn-Noranda, or in the case of Inuit employees, their home community. Ore produced from the mine is milled on-site then trucked 100 km (62 mi) to Deception Bay.[2] From Deception Bay the concentrate is sent via cargo ship during the short shipping season (even by ice breaker it is only accessible 8 months of the year)[3] to Quebec City, and then via rail to be smelted at Xstrata's facilities in Falconbridge, Ontario. Following smelting in Ontario, the concentrate is sent back to Quebec City via rail, loaded onto a ship and sent to Norway to be refined.[2][4]

Inuit relations

In February 1995 Falconbridge Ltd. signed an Impact and Benefits Agreement (IBA) called the "Raglan Agreement (1995)" with the local Inuit community. Originally the complex was created with the participation of the Inuit owned Makivik Corporation, with the hopes of attracting employment for local residents. Xstrata is working with the Kativik Regional Government and the Kativik School Board to educate the local Inuit population so they will be able to work at the mine, with a goal of the workforce being made up of 20% or more Inuit people. Currently the mines' Inuit work force is close to 17%[3] with most of the remainder being French Canadian from southern Quebec. Given the cultural mix at the complex, ethnic origin and discrimination are significant on-site issues.[5]

Safety

Raglan mine has won the national John T. Ryan Trophy in 2002, for having the lowest accident frequency of all metal mines in Canada.[6] In 2007 it was awarded the F.J. O'Connell award by the Mining Association of Quebec for recording the most improvement of mine safety in Quebec.[7]

Expansion

Raglan currently produces 1.1 million tonnes of ore annually from three underground mines and two open pit operations. The original Impact and Benefits Agreement limits production to 1.3 million tonnes of ore per year, which is expected to be met by the end of 2008. Xstrata is currently looking to increase production at the site to 2.0 million tonnes per year by 2013, this would require renegotiating the IBA. The local communities are open to the idea as it will benefit them both in profit sharing and increased direct employment. The expansion will require adding an additional 210 rooms to the current employee accommodations to house the estimated 100 additional employees that will be added.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Raglan MineSite". Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Information (NAR-CAN)". Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Zoltnikov, Dan (March/April). "Raglan project's ongoing expansion". CIM Magazine 3 (2): 20–21. ISSN 1718-4177. 
  4. ↑ "Xstrata Nickel: Raglan (details)". Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  5. ↑ Stackhouse, John (December 14, 2001). "Everyone thought we were stupid". The Globe and Mail. 
  6. ↑ "John T Ryan Trophy Past Winners (Metal Mines)". Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  7. ↑ "Xstrata Nickel's Raglan Mine Honoured for Safety Performance". Reuters. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 

External links

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