Fire Lake Mine: Expanding From 7 to 16.8 MTPA Using An Operation Integrated Approach in Project Execution
Marc-Olivier Vachon, ArcelorMittal; Félix Gravel Gaumond, ArcelorMittal Exploitation minière Canada
FIRE LAKE MINE: EXPANDING FROM 7 TO 16.8 MTPA USING AN OPERATION INTEGRATED APPROACH IN PROJECT EXECUTION *Marc-Olivier Vachon1, *Félix Gravel Gaumond1 1ArcelorMittal Mining Canada s.e.n.c. (AMEM) Quebec, Canada (*Corresponding Authors: marc-olivier.vachon@arcelormittal.com, felix.gravel-gaumond@arcelormittal.com ) ABSTRACT ArcelorMittal Mining Canada G.P. (AMEM); operates two (2) complementary mines in the hearth of the Labrador Trough region of Northern Quebec, Mont-Wright (MW) and Fire Lake (FL) mines. With iron ore extracted from its two mines, AMEM produces concentrate and iron oxide pellets for the steel markets. In 2015, AMEM purchased its own mining equipment at FL mine and shifted from a contractor-operation to an owner-operator mine operation to achieve ore production target of 7 MTPA. Following completion of the ownership, an operation integrated project was developed to increase run of mine (RoM) ore production from 7 to 15 MTPA, and operation optimization then allowed reaching 16.8 MTPA. The increase in RoM ore production at FL replaced lower value ore from the MW mine operation and provided additional higher grade and yield ore to optimize concentrate production. This increase has required multiple actions regarding equipment, infrastructure and operation strategies for the railroad and mine management. The 102M$ US project included but was not limited to; extension of the railroad, addition of a new siding, new maintenance and camp facilities, new train set and associated railcars, as well as the addition of mining equipment. This paper will describe the approach used in project execution and operationalization to successfully achieve the ramping-up and allow FL mine to become the second largest mining site within ArcelorMittal group for the extraction of iron ore.
Mots Clés:
Iron ore, operation optimization, engineering project, expansion project, mining
