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.
