UNDERGROUND

Report: Vale leaking glycol from Voisey's Bay

Vale has been producing nickel from Voisey's Bay since 2005

Vale has been producing nickel from the mine since 2005.

Vale has been producing nickel from the mine since 2005.

Vale's Voisey's Bay nickel mine in Labrador had leaked glycol earlier this week, CBC News reported.

Glycol is used to cool Voisey's Bay power plant and heat the facility, Vale told the news agency.

The leak has now been contained and cleanup has begun, the Brazilian company said.

"There was no risk to employees and our initial assessment shows it was contained to surface areas with no impact to any water bodies," company spokesman Jeffrey Lewis told CBC in a statement.

Vale said it would report the leak to regulatory agencies.

Work was temporarily suspended on Wednesday but has no resumed, he added.

The leak was said to have impacted the on-site medical clinic, but Vale did not expand on this.

Vale began work to transition from open-pit to an underground mine in 2018, extending mine life by 15 years.

The company produced its first ore at the extension in June 2021. The underground mine is expected to produce 40,000 tonnes of nickel in concentrate at a peak production rate of 2.6Mt per year.

The metals are processed at the hydrometallurgical facility in Long Harbour, Newfoundland.

Vale has been producing nickel from Voisey's Bay since 2005.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalog of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.