Sudbury Vale boss talks about need for job cuts and the dismantling of the Superstack

4 week_ago 11

Sudbury·New

Vale's manager of Ontario Operations Gord Gilpin says the mining institution had to 'simplify its business' with occupation cuts successful Sudbury, but wouldn't accidental however galore were laid off.

381-metre landmark Copper Cliff smokestack to statesman coming down this summer

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A sunset with a smokestack successful the inheritance and a agelong plume of smoke

The caput of Vale's mines, mill and smelter successful Sudbury says they precocious had to layoff immoderate workers successful bid to enactment competitive.

But manager of Ontario operations Gord Gilpin did not accidental however galore non-union jobs were chopped successful the past fewer months.

And helium wouldn't regularisation retired further layoffs to the mining company's Sudbury workforce of 4,000 people.

"You cognize we're facing a existent request to simplify our concern and arsenic a effect of that, unluckily we've had to marque immoderate tough, pugnacious choices, but they are for the amended of the concern longer term," Gilpin told reporters, aft addressing a enclosure of commerce luncheon connected Wedndesday.

He was besides asked astir the sluggish terms of nickel, which is presently hovering astir the $7 US per lb mark.

While it has historically gone done boom-and-bust cycles, it has been successful a prolonged gully for implicit a decennary now.

"We are concerned, but astatine the aforesaid time, I deliberation we're blessed with a large endowment, a pro-mining community," Gilpin said.

"But the world is the satellite changing with the magnitude of nickel that's coming connected the marketplace and we've got to enactment competitive."

During his speech, Gilpin updated the assemblage connected respective projects the mining institution is moving connected astir the Sudbury basin, including the caller Stobie unfastened pit mine, the planned enlargement of the Copper Cliff excavation and the agelong awaited "dismantling" of the Superstack.

A antheral wearing a suit stands successful beforehand of a microphone

The landmark 381-metre smokestack has dominated the section skyline for implicit 50 years, but with the dependable simplification of sulphur emissions implicit the decades, the stack was decommissioned successful 2020.

Gilpin says helium understands that the Superstack is a "very meaningful, precise important" awesome for Sudbury, but that it "doesn't marque sense" to support it lasting successful the mediate of the Copper Cliff smelter complex, saying Vale spends "a batch of wealth maintaining that to support it safe."

He said the enactment to take it down is acceptable to get underway by the extremity of this summer.

Asked astir the existent commercialized warfare with the United States and however that could impact the electrical conveyance artillery marketplace for nickel, particularly considering a 2022 proviso statement Vale made with Elon Musk's Tesla, Gilpin told reporters its pugnacious to marque plans amid the existent uncertainty.

"It's thing we're acrophobic about. It's thing that we're looking at, reasoning about. But until we get done this play of volatility, it's benignant of intolerable to predict, where that's going to go," helium said.

"So what we're focusing connected is trying to be, you know, safe, reliable operators and, and continuing the agelong word travel of being a competitory producer."

With files from Erika Chorostil

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