Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Processing |
- Gravity separation
- Magnetic separation
|
Mine Life | 21 years (as of Jan 1, 2017) |
On August 2, 2019 Champion Iron Files Feasibility Study for the Phase II Expansion at Bloom Lake.
The Feasibility Study envisions increasing overall capacity at Bloom Lake from 7.4Mtpa to 15Mtpa of 66.2% Fe iron ore concentrate. Supported by the strong economics demonstrated in the Feasibility Study, the Company's board of directors has approved an initial budget of $68 million to fund and advance the project during the remainder of 2019, in order to secure the timetable detailed in the Feasibility Study. |
Latest News | Champion Iron Announces Final Approval of the Phase II Expansion Project and Increases its Senior Secured Credit Facility November 12, 2020 |
Source:
p. 4
Company | Interest | Ownership |
Champion Iron Ltd.
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
Quebec Iron Ore Inc.
(operator)
|
100 %
|
Direct
|
Champion Iron is an iron ore mining company with a 63.2% interest in its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore Inc. (QIO) operating the Bloom Lake mine, a long-life, large-scale open pit operation located in northern Quebec. Ressources Québec, a subsidiary of governmental agency Investissement Québec, is the owner of the remaining 36.8% share.
May 29, 2019 - Champion is pleased to report that its subsidiary Québec Iron Ore Inc. (QIO) has concluded an agreement with the government of Québec, through its agent Ressources Québec Inc. ("RQ"), to acquire RQ's 36.8% equity interest in QIO for a total cash consideration of C$211 million (the "Transaction"). The Transaction would increase Champion's stake in QIO to 100%.
Summary:
The Bloom Lake deposits are about 24 km southwest of Labrador City and about 8 km north of the Mount Wright range. The western 6 km of this range contains very large reserves of specular hematite-magnetite iron-formation in a synclinal structure that is regarded as a southwest extension of the Wabush Lake ranges.
The iron-formation and quartzite are conformable within a metasedimentary series of biotitemuscovite-quartz-feldspar-hornblende- garnet-epidote schists and gneisses in a broad synclinal structure. This succession, following the first stage of folding and faulting, was intruded by gabbroic sills which were later metamorphosed and transformed into amphibolite gneiss with foliation parallel with that in adjacent metasediments. Two separate iron-formation units are present; these join northwest of Bloom Lake, but are separated by several dozen meters of gneiss and schist in the southern part of the structure. Quartzite, present below the upper member throughout the eastern part of the area, pinches out near the western end. Folded segments and inclusions of ironformation in the central part of the syncline that are surrounded by amphibolite, are in most cases thought to be part of an overlying sheet that was thrust over the main syncline during the first period of deformation. The large amphibolite mass in the central part of the area was apparently emplaced along the zone of weakness created by this early thrust fault.
Iron-formation in the western 5 to 6 kilometers of the structure is predominantly of the magnetitehematite-quartz facies that forms the major zones of potential ore. Hematite is distributed in two ways through the quartzite. The hematite is of the specularite type and has a silvery-grey colour and is non-magnetic. It is most often occurring as anastomosing to discontinuous stringers and bands less than 10 cm thick in a quartz or actinolite-quartz matrix. Bands tend to be folded and deformed but also can be regular and tabular. Quartz is milky and granular.
Magnetite typically occurs in narrow millimetric veinlets associated with quartz-carbonate veining material. The crystals are sub- to euhedral and demonstrate the typical dull to sub-metallic luster. When associated to hematite-enriched mineralization, the magnetite occurs as blebs of porous grains, often granoblastic, that may extend up to several centimetres. Enriched magnetite horizons are mostly found, but not always, in the upper portion of the iron formations in close contact with the amphibolite mass.
With the actual state of geological knowledge in the western sector of the Bloom Lake deposit, magnetite-rich IF are less important in volume than in the eastern half of the Bloom Lake pit area. The thickness of drillhole intercepts is lower than 10 vertical metres. Many drill holes did not return significant magnetite intersections. Very few actinolite or grunerite minerals associated with magnetite mineralization were described in the western holes.
A fairly abrupt change in facies takes place along strike east of a line passing northwest across Bloom Lake, east of which the grunerite-Ca-pyroxene-actinolite-magnetite-carbonate facies predominates. The oxide facies to the west is uniform.
The lower unit is less than 30 meters thick in some places and is considerably thinner than the upper unit. The iron content ranges from 32 to 34 per cent in this facies. In places the silicatecarbonate facies to the east contains more than 50 per cent cummingtonite, which in part is magnesium rich, and the manganese content ranges from 0.1 to more than 2.0 per cent. Mueller (1960) has studied the complex assemblage of minerals in this rock and has discussed chemical reactions during metamorphism in considerable detail. He has shown that a close approach to chemical equilibrium in the amphibolite metamorphic facies is indicated by the orderly distribution of Mg, Fe, and Mn among coexisting actinolite, Ca-pyroxene, and cummingtonite, and the restriction in the number and type of minerals in association with each other. Furthermore, a comparison between the composition of the silicates and the presence or absence of hematite shows that the Mg to Mg plus Fe ratio is increased, but is much less variable when hematite is present.
Summary:
The operation consists of a conventional surface mining method using an Québec Iron Ore Inc. mining approach with electric hydraulic shovels and mine trucks. All major mine equipment required for the restart of the project is present on site as this equipment was among the assets purchased by QIO from Cliffs. The study consists of resizing the open pit based on parameters outlined in this section and producing a life-of-mine (“LOM”) plan to feed a plant at a nominal rate of 20 Mt/y.
Processing
- Gravity separation
- Magnetic separation
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
Quebec Iron Ore (QIO) intends to use the crushing and storage facilities of the Phase II operation along with the mill and the rail load-out facilities from the Phase I operation to produce 7.4 Mtpa of concentrate, with a recovery of 83.3% from the ore mined from the main pit.
The phase I and phase II facilities currently exist; however, prior to the start-up planned for the end of 2017, refurbishments and improvements as described below will be made to improve the iron ore recovery, operational reliability, and fugitive dust control.
Major Processing Facilities:
- Primary Crusher (near pit)
- Crushed ore stock pile (local to the crusher)
- Overland conveyor (3.46 km)
- A-Frame crushed ore stockpile shed
- Reclaim apron feeders (within the A-Frame)
- AG Mill
- Screens
- Spirals
- Hydrosizer
- Magnetic separators
- Pan filter & thickener
- Concentrate storage and rail load-out.
Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | 2019 | 2018 |
Iron Ore
|
Recovery Rate, %
| ......  | ......  |
Iron Ore
|
Head Grade, %
| ......  | ......  |
Iron Ore
|
Concentrate Grade, %
| ......  | ......  |
Reserves at March 31, 2019:
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
Proven
|
236.3 M dmt
|
Iron
|
30.7 %
|
Probable
|
47.3 M dmt
|
Iron
|
28.7 %
|
Proven & Probable
|
383.5 M dmt
|
Iron
|
29.9 %
|
Measured
|
401.8 M dmt
|
Iron
|
31 %
|
Indicated
|
471.6 M dmt
|
Iron
|
28.5 %
|
Measured & Indicated
|
883.4 M dmt
|
Iron
|
29.7 %
|
Inferred
|
80.4 M dmt
|
Iron
|
25.6 %
|
Commodity Production Costs:
| Commodity | Units | 2019 |
Total cash costs (sold)
|
Iron Ore
|
CAD
|
......
|
All-in sustaining costs (sold)
|
Iron Ore
|
CAD
|
......
|
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Financials:
| Units | 2019 | 2018 |
Capital expenditures
|
M CAD
| ......  | 97.6 |
Revenue
|
M CAD
| ......  | |
EBITDA
|
M CAD
| ......  | -80.01 |
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