Tag Archives: Tacora Resources

Tacora puts Scully iron ore mine back on the map

Tacora Resources says it has made its first seaborne vessel shipment of iron ore concentrate produced at the Scully mine located in Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Last week, the MV RIO TAMARA departed the Port of Sept-Iles, Quebec, with a payload of 69,770 t (wet) of Tacora Premium Concentrate bound for a customer in Europe. The vessel was loaded at dock 30 of the Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Pointe-Noire (SFPPN), at the Port of Sept-Iles on Quebec’s north shore.

Tacora purchased substantially all the assets associated with the Scully mine on July 17, 2017. In the subsequent months, it completed a feasibility study that confirmed the viability of Tacora’s restart plans for the mine, secured life of mine access to rail transportation services and ship loading infrastructure, including access to a deep water port with SFPPN and the Port of Sept-Iles, and concluded various regulatory matters with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, including consultations with local indigenous peoples.

Larry Lehtinen, Executive Chairman and CEO, said: “We are very pleased to have the Scully Mine back in production producing a premium quality sinter feed for the global iron ore market containing in excess of 65.5% iron and less than 2% manganese, 3.0% silica with ultra-low levels of alumina and phosphorous.”

He added: “Congratulations to our teammates at the Scully Mine in Wabush, NL, who are off to a great start building a high-performance organisation based on innovation, variable compensation and productivity. We are grateful to all the stakeholders involved in the Scully Mine restart with a special thanks to our valued logistics partners at SFPPN, Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railroad and the Port of Sept-Iles.”

Tacora hoping for Scully iron ore mine restart in 2019

The Scully iron ore mine in Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, looks like restarting after owner Tacora Resources secured up to $276 million of funding to turn the lights back on.

Just this week, the company announced it had closed on $212 million in private equity and senior secured debt financing which, together with existing commitments for up to US$64 million in mining equipment debt financing, will fully fund the restart.

Tacora purchased substantially all the assets associated with the Scully mine on July 17, 2017. In the subsequent months, it completed a feasibility study that confirmed the viability of Tacora’s restart plans for the mine, secured life of mine access to rail transportation services and ship loading infrastructure, including access to a deep water port with Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Ponte-Noire and the Port of Sept-Iles, and concluded various regulatory matters with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, including consultations with local indigenous peoples.

The company is now hoping mining will recommence in June 2019.

Larry Lehtinen, Executive Chairman and CEO of Tacora, said: “We are extremely pleased to have the Scully mine restart fully financed and to move forward with hiring the workforce and implementing the various commercial contracts and capital projects to bring the Scully mine back to life.”

As part of the financing, trading company Cargill has made an equity investment and extended its long-term offtake agreement for Scully.

Lee Kirk, Managing Director of Cargill’s Metals business, said by extending this agreement through 2033, the company was “better positioned to provide our customers around the world with greater access to high quality iron ore”.

The previous owners, Cliffs Natural Resources, shut down Scully in 2014 as global prices for iron ore plummeted.

It is expected to produce some 6 Mt/y of high-grade concentrate when fully ramped up.

Works on the project include the installation of a manganese reduction line, concentrator upgrades, the construction of an additional load-out bin and improved material handling equipment at Pointe Noire.