Vale Base Metals’ Manitoba Operations was the first company to come to the CCMEC sponsorship table in 2024 and in a big way – taking the top spot in the elite level as a Diamond sponsor. CCMEC welcomes participants this November 4 & 5 at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg and is managed by the Mining Association of Manitoba Inc. (MAMI).
Vale has been mining high-grade nickel sulfide ore in Thompson for nearly 70 years, and the operation’s team is busy laying the groundwork for another 70 years of mining in northern Manitoba.
“It’s an exciting time for mining in Thompson and Manitoba,” said Stacy Kennedy, Director of Manitoba Operations for Vale Base Metals. “We’re making big investments in our operation, and making new discoveries in our region, while making mining more welcoming and accessible to everyone.”
Vale Base Metals is one of the world’s largest producers of high-quality nickel and an important producer of copper and responsibly sourced cobalt, with operations in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Indonesia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Its mission is to safely deliver the critical minerals essential to the world’s energy transition, while improving life and transforming the future.
In Thompson, the company currently operates two underground mines, T1 and T3, which feed ore to a concentrator that prepares it for shipping and further processing in Ontario.
Vale Base Metals aims to be a leader in environmentally responsible and sustainable mining. Last year, Vale’s operations, including those in Manitoba, met a big milestone when they became ISO 14001:2015 certified, meaning they meet the international standard for industrial environmental management.
Thompson’s environmental management strategy includes proactively remediating and re-using waste materials from mining to reduce its footprint and its costs, as well as a robust water quality management system.
“We take our responsibility for our watershed seriously,” said Kennedy, “every step is taken to make sure the water that flows through our property goes back into the environment as clean as it came in.”
One of Thompson’s major growth projects has been the Thompson Mine Extension Project, a $150M investment in the future of Thompson’s T3 mine. The electrical, mechanical, and ventilation upgrades will help them improve production in the most active areas of the mine and build the business case for much larger investments.
But Thompson’s exploration team is also looking beyond its main mine sites, executing on an ambitious exploration campaign to learn more about the opportunities in the broader region surrounding Thompson.
“The Thompson Nickel Belt has been mapped extensively closer to the surface,” Kennedy said, “but there’s more to be discovered at depth. We’re investing heavily into expanding our knowledge of very promising orebodies in the area, with a lot of promising results.”
One of the operation’s biggest priorities is to grow its local workforce, and make sure northern Manitobans have an opportunity to benefit from the wealth that mining creates. Vale Base Metals is Thompson’s biggest single employer, directly employing more than 700 people, along with the contractors and vendors that support the operation. In Manitoba alone, Vale contributed $271 million in labour income over the last three years, and their average salary is more than double the provincial average.
“We have great, lifelong opportunities in mining,” Kennedy said. “Lots of our leaders here started underground as miners and built amazing careers. A job in mining can be a life-changing opportunity.”
Last year, Manitoba launched its Miners in Training curriculum, now called the Next Generation program. The program offers six weeks of training in Vale’s dedicated underground training area, helping new hires with no industrial or mining experience build a foundation for a safe and successful career as underground miners, with a particular focus on women entering the industry.
Hiring events like Walk-in Wednesday also help open the industry to a variety of local candidates, where anyone could come in off of the street, resume in hand, and interview with one of the operation’s hiring managers.
“It means that anyone with the drive to try something new has the chance to build a life with us,” Kennedy said.
Thompson, known as the “Hub of the North,” is named after John F. Thompson, chairman of International Nickel (INCO). The company discovered its main ore body in 1956 and, from there, operations and the rest of the community grew around that finding. You can still see signs of Thompson’s mining heritage throughout the community, and the mine still plays a big role in community life: The operation invested nearly $750,000 into community initiatives last year, including part of a $2M investment over four years towards Thompson’s new aquatic facility.
“We’re really privileged to have great relationships with our local government, with recreational clubs and community groups, and with our Indigenous partners in Thompson,” said Kennedy. “Most of our employees live and work in Thompson, and I’m proud to see how much they’re engaged with community life. You can find our employees helping out everywhere in the community.”
Now, Kennedy and the Manitoba team are working to honour the Indigenous heritage of Thompson, and the Treaty 5 territory where they operate. This year, Vale Base Metals signed a new exploration agreement with the neighbouring Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, creating a mutually beneficial relationship with the community and the company’s exploration program: one that commits to a larger relationship agreement in the future.
“Mining has a big role to play in reconciliation in Manitoba,” Kennedy said. “This is a historic agreement, and long overdue.”
For more information about Vale Base Metals and the company’s Thompson operations, visit their website or read it’s Journey Together community reports here.
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