ArcelorMittal Port CartierArcelorMittal will satisfy 23% of the energy needs of the Port Cartier pellet plant by the use of a biocaburant to be produced by Bionergie AE Cote-Nord from waste wood chips to be supplied by a local sawmill, Arbec. This will allow Arbec to reopen and put 280 unemployed people back to work. The Bionergie plant has been idle waiting for Arbec to restart opertions.
It is also part of ArcellorMittal's objective to to cease consumption of heavy oil, Bunker C, by subsituting natural gas and biocarbon. Supposedly this would be the equivalent of removing 23,000 vehicles from circulation. The source for all the above is Mapi Mobwano, the president of ArcellorMittal Mining Canada, at a recent Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Arcellor claims to be the "world's number one steelmaker". PYR torches are not in their plans.
Allouette is bringing natural gas to Sept-Iles by truck for use in it's electrode plane. Hope was that natural gas would come from the terminal in the Saguenay area that would be supplied by a new gas pipeline through western Quebec. That project was killed by the Legault gouv. following pressure from enviros. Arcellor was counting on this happening. Natural gas could still be supplied if a maritime terminal was constructed to supply the north shore of the St Lawerence. Allouette's interest in PYR is limited to the pot lining problem for the moment.
The above is underway at this moment and has been in planning for at least two years.
Just read the local newspaper le nord-cotier, in french.