Vale Base Metals (VBM) recently announced a new agreement with Glencore Canada to jointly evaluate a potential brownfield copper development project at their adjacent properties in the Sudbury Basin in Canada.
The agreement provides a framework to explore the significant synergies of mining both companies’ underground deposits via the existing shaft and infrastructure at Glencore’s Nickel Rim South mine.
When the early work is complete, VBM and Glencore said they intend to transition to a joint venture as equal partners in the project, which potentially includes deepening Glencore’s existing mine shaft and developing new drifts to access nearby copper deposits.
The project is estimated to produce 880,000 tonnes of copper over 21 years with a capital cost of about US$1.6-2 billion.
“Opportunities to partner and unlock synergistic value between neighbouring miners in the Sudbury Basin have been pursued for decades, without meaningful success,” said VBM CEO Shaun Usmar.
“The contemplated partnership paves the way to extract valuable copper-rich orebodies for our respective operations that would otherwise be lost to both companies. The proposed 50-50 joint venture aims to leverage Glencore’s unused infrastructure to access orebodies on both our properties. This will benefit our respective companies, our local communities in and around Sudbury, and it has the potential to produce nearer-term critical minerals from this prolific brownfield project for the Canadian economy. My hope is it will be a catalyst to unearth further synergies in the region.”
The polymetallic geology of the Sudbury Basin means that in addition to copper the companies will also produce nickel, cobalt, gold, PGMs and other critical minerals. Detailed engineering, permitting and consultation work will occur in 2026. A final investment decision is expected in the first half of 2027.
Source: Vale Base Metals
See also: Vale and Glencore to discuss Sudbury copper deposit development – Mineria Pan-Americana