Glencore’s $1.3-billion Craig Onaping Depth Mine expansion has received an $11-million boost from the federal government toward the purchase of electric vehicles.
The Depth Mine is reaching approximately 2.6-kilometres into the ground, below the existing Craig Onaping mine. Its vertical shaft has recently been completed. Lacking the emissions of diesel-powered vehicles, he said electric equipment requires less air being pumped underground, which needs to be heated as it enters during the winter and cooled throughout the year at an underground refrigeration plant due to hot temperatures at that depth.
“The market could not deliver the equipment that we needed for this mine, so we had to make a pretty serious commitment and take a bit of a risk to push the industry in that direction,” Xavier said. The $11-million boost from the province is a significant help, he said, noting that producers in other countries are able to extract nickel from the surface at a much lower cost.