US EPA

6888532 

Journal Article 

Getting the nickel out: how Raglan ships concentrate from Katinniq to Sudbury 

Werniuk, J 

1998 

119 

6 

24-25 

English 

In the June 1998 issue of CMJ we described Falconbridge Ltd.'s new Raglan nickel mining and concentrating operation in northernmost Quebec. A large part of the feasibility of the project depended on whether the concentrate could be shipped out through the largely icebound Hudson Strait to Quebec City, for rail shipment to the company's smelter near Sudbury, ON. The following describes the Raglan shipping operation. Concentrate from the Raglan plant at the Katinniq site in northern Quebec is loaded pneumatically into 50-tonne tanker trucks operated by the Inuit enterprise, Katinniq Transport, which plies the 95-km gravel road between the concentrator and Deception Bay. At the bay are storage and shipping facilities purchased from Asbestos Corp. Ltd. and refurbished by Falconbridge. The facilities include two docks, an Arco trailer camp, and a 30-m tall, 46,000-tonne capacity dome for storing concentrate, inside a 300-m-long metal-clad storage shed. The dome keeps the concentrate from the weather, and the conveyor system running from the dome to the rail car -- loading facility is closed to the elements as well. Each covered hopper car holds 92 tonnes of material and takes four to five days to go to Sudbury. The concentrate is stored in Quebec until needed. In Sudbury, cars are emptied into a pneumatic transport pod where the concentrate is sent to either of the two 1,000-tonne storage areas or directly to the smelter. It will take approximately 290 car loads to empty one ship (26,000 tonnes). 

Mines And Mining Industry; Transportation; Nickel mines; Quebec Canada; 9172:Canada