Vale’s Coleman nickel-copper mine in Ontario on December 10 celebrated 50 years of operations. The mine began operations in 1970 and is home to some of Vale’s richest orebodies. “After 50 years of operations, we have a lot to reflect on,” said Brent Salem, Manager of Coleman Mine. “Coleman Mine has become the flagship of Vale’s Sudbury Operations over the years through the hard work and dedication of our employees.”

Many phases of development have occurred at Coleman Mine over the past 50 years including multiple expansions. Coleman Mine is has also been home to new technologies such as the first electric haulage vehicles in Vale’s Sudbury Operations and the installation of an underground 4G LTE network.

The attached image shows a 50 t payload Kiruna electric truck supplied by Atlas Copco (now Epiroc) at the mine. At Coleman there are an estimated 32,000 trips with six Kiruna AC trucks (some supplied as AC with some older units converted from DC to AC) per year translating to huge diesel savings and significantly lowered emissions. The first Kiruna trucks went into operation in 1996. Coleman’s 170 orebody also saw the first battery electric machines in Vale’s Canadian mines commissioned – an Artisan (now part of Sandvik) A4 loader and Atlas Copco ST7 Battery in 2017.

“The men and women that work at Coleman Mine have a lot to be proud of,” said Salem. “There is a culture of safety here where everyone cares for one another and that’s critically important to our success. Our employees are our most important asset.” Coleman Mine is located within the City of Greater Sudbury near the community of Levack and employs approximately 545 people.

Photo: James Hodgins www.miningindustrialphotographer.com