Now hiring: Scully mine to restart summer 2019 in Lab West

New life is about to be breathed into an old pit, as TacoraResources Inc. announced today the Scullymine will restart operations next summer.

The company is expecting to create 260 jobs, and will start looking for those workers right away. A hiring information session is expected to take place Tuesday night, 6:30 p.m. at the Arts and Cultures Centre in Labrador City.

"It's the lifebreathed back into our community again," said WabushMayor Ron Barron."Let's get the show going and get people working."

Premier Dwight Ball was in Labrador West on Tuesday to make the announcement alongside Tacora CEOLarry Lehtinen.

"The work starts today, the hiring process starts today," Ball said. "The next step and the way forward for Wabushstarts today."

Many years, many jobs

Lehtinensaid the Scully mine has a future "decades and decades" long, with an expected annual production between 6 and 6.5million tonnesof iron ore, which will be 65.9per cent iron content.

He said he's hoping to have "the first concentrate product hitting the railcar" inJune2019, and that the mine will be operating at full tilt in 2020.

Tacorasays the mine will operate for at least 25 years, with all of its product sold to metal supplierCargill for the first 15 years.

Tacorasecured a private investment of$212 million US, along with $64 million US in mining equipment debt financing to restart the mine.

"It's not easy raising that kind of sum of money,"Lehtinensaid.

Though Tacora's collective bargaining agreement with workers doesn't require the company to hire past employees of the mine, he said, "people who have prior knowledge of this operation are naturally and obviously people that we're going to look to and talk to and see if they fit into this new culture we're creating."

"Starting today, applications are being accepted and we are going to put together a high-performance team," he said.

Mine has rocky history in recent years

The Scullypit was shut down in 2014, putting about 400 people out of work.

• Wabush Mines shutdown blamed on production costs

At the time, itwas deemed not financially viable to continue by Cliffs Natural Resources, the company mining the pit.

The market was volatile, they said, and costs were escalating to a point where they had to shut down.

The restart of this operation is tremendous for the people of Labrador West.- Graham Letto

For the next two years, the price of iron ore continued to fall, until it picked back up in 2016. Since then, the market has seen a series of peaks and valleysaffected by global demand.

Despite challenges in the current marketplace, Tacorabrass has remained steadfast in the future of the Scullypit.

Making manganese work

Lehtinensaid despite claims the mine was at the end of its life, there's still a lot left in the pit.

In particular, the new operation will employ equipment that can separate and process manganese, which he said was otherwise a problem.

"The manganese content was a hurdle and an impediment before. We're turning that into an advantage.A lot of material that couldn't be processed, now it can."

He's got other tools on order for the mine, he said,includingthree shovels, three drills and10 brand new haul trucks. The first truck arrives in January.

The mine itself is also getting some love, he said, including upgrades to the automation and control system, and to the electrical system.

Labrador West MHAGraham Letto, who is also the minister of environment, said he was thrilled about the reawakening of the mine.

"I greatly appreciate the commitment that Tacora has exhibited throughout this difficult process and thank them for their persistence," Letto said.

"The restart of this operation is tremendous for the people of Labrador West."

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