Great Read on IOC ElectrificationA great read on Iron Ore Corporation (IOC) electrification. This article has IOC specifically saying, publicly, that they are targeting the electrification of their pellet plants as a major project. And we know how they intend to do this:
https://euro.dayfr.com/business/418667.html Hydro-Qubec is no longer alone in coveting Gull Island’s energy The entry of the iron ore giant strengthens the negotiating position of Newfoundland and Labrador, which recently began formal discussions with Quebec on the future of the controversial contract of Churchill Fallsas well as the possible construction of the project Gull Island. Hydro-Qubec, whose energy surpluses could have melted by 2027, has long been the only customer considered for this latest dam project, downstream of the river. Churchill.
IOC is the number one industrial polluter in Newfoundland and Labrador, producing 1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. It wants to electrify its facilities using wind turbines, but above all by increasing its purchases of hydroelectricity. Up to 800 megawatts of clean electricity will be needed, according to current forecasts.
” There is hydroelectric power available in Labrador, so that’s probably the easiest solution for us. »
Chantal Lavoie says talks with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro on a new transmission line began three years ago.
He explains thatIOC follows very closely
the evolution of the discussions on Gull Islanda 2,250 megawatt project mentioned several times by the Premier of Quebec, Franois Legault, as a possible solution to meet the growing demand for electricity in his province.
The potential competition between the mining company and Hydro-Qubec is a tricky question
admitted Chantal Lavoie in an interview with Radio-Canada last week. I think people realize the needs of each stakeholder and it’s up to the Government of Newfoundland to make the decision that’s best for the province.
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NL has never been in a better position
negotiation
The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Furey, is happy about the situation. His province has never been in a better position
negotiation, he said.
Previously, we could not use the energy ourselves. This was one of the problems with the Upper Churchill project. We [Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador] Had all that energy, but we didn’t need it […] These days, I’ll tell you we got clients in this room
he argued to the Chairman and CEO ofIOC, Mike McCannat the time of the opening of the new office of Rio Tinto, the parent company ofIOCin Saint-Jean, on May 30th.
It is to Newfoundland’s advantage to have a potential new buyer
supports the full professor at HEC Montreal, Pierre-Olivier Pineau.
Pierre-Olivier Pineau is an expert in energy policies and a professor at HEC Montral.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Suddenly, Hydro-Quebec and Quebec are no longer the only buyers for that electricity, so it increases the value of the electricity both Churchill Fallstherefore Upper Churchill, and the project Gull Island.
lose Edom, research professional at the Institut de l’nergie Trottier at Polytechnique Montral, points out that Hydro-Qubec remains a much bigger customer thanIOC. The mining company aims to purchase a few hundred megawatts of electricity, while Hydro-Qubec already buys almost all of the 5,428 megawatts produced at the Churchill Falls.
lose Edom is a research associate at the Trottier Energy Institute of Polytechnique Montral.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Jessica Rubinger
The order of magnitude is different
she summarizes, while adding however thatIOC is a local client and that his presence at the negotiation table is a big lever
to promote the construction of Gull Island.
-- A new dynamic at the bargaining table?
According to Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute, if the modernization of the facilities ofIOC come strengthen
Newfoundland and Labrador’s negotiating position, the situation could also allow a more mature relationship that is not such a strained relationship
between Saint-Jean and Quebec.
Last February, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Furey, received his Quebec counterpart, Franois Legault, to discuss the renewal of the Churchill Falls hydroelectric contract.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Paul Daly
Andrew Furey and Franois Legault seek to bury the hatchet after decades of friction over the existing power contract in Churchill Fallswhich ends in 2041. Spread over 65 years, without the possibility of negotiation, the contract allows Quebec to reap billions of dollars by reselling the electricity purchased from its neighboring province at a ridiculous price: 0.2 cents the kilowatt hour.
If we have an economic partner like IOCwell, both sides have to say, “OK, our negotiation, it has to be real so that we can deliver the goods. We can’t just fight”
says Normand Mousseau.
Economic engine
IOC, which employs 2,400 people, says it brought in $1.3 billion to the local economy and paid $530 million in taxes in 2022. It has operated an iron ore mine, concentrator and pellet plant near Labrador City since 1962. , as well as a 418 km railway line to transport the dumplings to Sept-les, on the North Shore of Quebec.
The company promises to reduce its emissions by 50% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. It is seeking to electrify its facilities, especially its pellet plant, where it burns coke, a form of metallurgical coal capable of reach very high temperatures.
The Rio-Tinto-IOC mine in Labrador-City.
Photo: Rio-Tinto-IOC
Almost all pellets are sent to steel mills. Steel production accounts for 2% of Canada’s annual emissions and 7% of global emissions, report says (New window) of the Public Policy Forum published in April. This same document anticipates that the demand for steel will increase by 10 to 40% by 2050 to allow the construction of solar panels, wind turbines and electricity pylons.
According IOCdemand for iron ore from the Labrador Trough – which is relatively purer, takes less energy to process and may soon be fully electrified – is expected to surge in the coming years.
Other possible industrial customers?
Pierre-Olivier Pineau recalls that Rio Tinto is very present in Quebec and will want to maintain good relations with the CAQ government. According to him, Hydro-Qubec remains very well placed to negotiate and, in fact, it is certain that part of this electricity will be in Quebec
.
However, he believes thatIOC risk of not being the only local industrial buyer for hydroelectricity from the river Churchill.
ArcelorMittal’s Mont-Wright mine in Fermont could be interested in hydroelectricity from the potential Gull Island dam project on the Churchill River, according to Pierre-Olivier Pineau.
Photo: MRC of Caniapiscau
He points out that ArcelorMittal’s Mont-Wright mine is located a few kilometers from the Labrador border, near Fermont. ArcelorMittal did not respond to an interview request.
According to the professor, other companies aiming to produce hydrogen could also be interested in the clean electricity power of Labrador.
Long and Strong in PyroGenesis!