Vale Base Metals has signed an agreement with Thiess, where the mining services company will work closely with the United Steelworkers and local Indigenous businesses to extract critical minerals from Vale’s Stobie open-pit mining project in Ontario, Canada.
“This is a first-of-its-kind contract for Vale,” said Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario Operations for Vale Base Metals. “It delivers on our company’s strategy to increase production from near-surface deposits and does so with the direct participation and collaboration of two very important groups – First Nation peoples and the United Steelworkers.”
By working with the Aki-eh Dibinwewziwin Limited Partnership (ADLP) and Z’gamok Construction LP (ZCLP), Thiess is collaborating with three Canadian First Nations – Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Wahnapitae First Nation under ADLP and Sagamok Anishnawbek, to present a full mining services proposal to Vale with meaningful First Nation participation.
“We’re excited by this opportunity to bring our global technical expertise and engineering capability to a major Canadian mining operation for Vale,” Thiess Executive Chair and CEO Michael Wright said.
“Vale identified an opportunity to ensure meaningful Indigenous involvement on this project, while respecting their obligations to their USW workforce and managing the earth’s resources in a sustainable way – we’re proud to work with a client who shares our commitment to sustainable mining practices, and working with others to move forward successfully, together.”
Thiess said the Stobie open-pit mining project will be delivered in a high-trust, collaborative model between all partners listed above, to ensure the project provides multi-generational, and both social and economic benefits for the local communities.
Source: Thiess