Ministry approves Vale's new emissions targets

The province has approved Vale's plan to reduce nickel emissions at the Sudbury smelter.

The Brazilian mining giant submitted its plan to the Ministry of the Environment in January.

The company said it will reduce metal emissions by 35 to 40 per cent by the end of 2015, which will bring bringing the company in line with the province's updated air quality standards for nickel.

It's been 7 years since Ontario announced its new air quality standards for industry and the Ministry of the Environment says Vale's long-awaited site-specific plan will meet the new 2016 target for nickel-specific emissions.

Vale applied for and was granted an extension on the province's original deadline of 2010.

The ministry said it can be flexible when a company like Vale demonstrates it's actively working to meet the new targets.

"Three years ago they were at 38 micrograms per cubic metre, now they're at 15 and the approval requires that they come down even further to 3 micrograms in 2015," said ministry spokesperson Kate Jordan.

By mid-2016, Vale's plan should cut nickel particulate emissions in Sudbury to 1 microgram per cubic metre per year.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said in order to meet the new standards, the physical infrastructure of Sudbury's smelting operations will change dramatically.

"So it's really a complete retrofit of the converter aisle," she noted. "It's also going to involve the construction of a secondary baghouse, which is essentially a huge vacuum cleaner, which will capture dust and metals as well."

Vale is still waiting for the Ministry to approve its site-specific sulphur dioxide emissions plan. That process is expected to wrap-up in the next three to six months.