The Redpath Group reached a milestone this week, as the company completed an 875 m by 6.3 m diameter raise at the Niobec underground niobium mine in Québec, Canada. The raise is the largest by volume ever completed in the Americas and in the northern hemisphere. It is also the third biggest globally.

The Redbore 90EX raisedrill, manufactured by Redpath in North Bay, Canada, was selected as the most appropriate drill to undertake this project. The remarkable achievement was a team effort that started in 2019 when Niobec approached Redpath Canada. “Having worked together previously, Redpath’s project team understood Niobec’s needs for achieving a fully integrated process ensuring the lowest possible end cost, coupled with the highest standards of safety and productivity. The engineering and construction teams of our two companies worked in partnership to achieve this goal. The project finished safely and ahead of schedule,” said Johan Davel, General Manager, Redpath Raiseboring.

The Niobec mine is located in the municipality of Saint-Honoré in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, approximately 200 km north of Québec City. It is the only underground niobium mine, and one of the three main niobium producers in the world. The mine uses open stoping. Current production accounts for approximately 8 to 10% of the world’s production which varies according to the shifts in global supply and demand from year to year.