VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The Quebec government's Green Fund has granted Quebec Iron Ore (QIO), a subsidiary of Champion Iron, C$5.2-million in financial assistance for two energy conversion projects at the flagship Bloom Lake iron-ore mine, near Fermont.
The first project involves the replacement of a steam boiler using light fuel oil, with an electrode steam boiler in the plant's main boiler room. The new boiler will meet a significant portion of the demand for process steam, as well as midseason heating requirements.
Champion said the switch from fuel oil to electric heating will not only reduce the fuel consumption of the mine, but also reduce the mine's environmental footprint and operating costs.
The second project involves the installation of an overhead conveyor to transport iron-ore. The mined ore was historically transported to the crusher using trucks with a 240 t capacity. The ore was then transported on a conveyor to the storage site. The new overhead conveyor will significantly reduce the use of trucks, accordingly reducing QIO’s diesel consumption.
Significantly, the two energy conversion projects will reduce Bloom Lake’s greenhouse-gas emissions by 19 689.2 t equivalent carbon dioxide a year, which is equivalent to removing about 5 800 light vehicles from roads every year.
Financial assistance from the Green Fund falls within the framework of the Government of Quebec’s ‘EcoPerformance Programme under the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climatic Change’.