Quebec's Metals and Minerals Industry Boasts $57 Billion of Projects as New Government Shows Support

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Quebec's Metals and Minerals Industry is sparking renewed interest, with abundant mineral resources and a surge in government support fuelling everything from cement plants to gold mines. Industrial Info is tracking 121 industry projects in the Canadian province with a total investment value (TIV) of more than $57 billion.

Of these projects, 46 with a TIV of more than $11.5 billion are expected to kick off within the next 12 months. One of the largest is Bombardier Incorporated's (Montreal, Quebec) $1 billion complex in Port-Daniel, Quebec, which will house a cement plant, limestone quarry and marine terminal. The project, which is set to kick off soon and create about 200 jobs, involves building a 450 million-ton limestone quarry; a 2.2 million-ton-per-year cement production plant, which can be expanded to 2.5 million tons per year; and a marine shipping terminal. The project is expected to be completed in about two years.

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More than 60%, or about $34.8 billion, of the TIV is related to projects in Quebec's sparsely populated northern areas. Following its victory in a province-wide election earlier this year, Quebec's Liberal Party announced it would revive and extend "Plan Nord," a mining plan that covers 1.2 square kilometers in the north, which is roughly double the size of France. The area holds a generous amount of resources, including iron ore, uranium, platinum, gold, lithium and some rare-earth minerals.

The opposition Parti Quebecois, which had been in charge since September 2012, had largely scuttled Plan Nord. But the new leadership plans to use up to $1 billion from the provincial government's investment arm to find contractors, and invite new and develop existing businesses. The original plan envisioned up to $83 billion in public and private investment, and that number is now expected to go up.

The largest planned project is Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corporation's (Hubei, China) $4.25 billion, aboveground iron ore mine and pellet plant on Lake Otelnuk in the Quebec's Riviere-Koksoak territory. Wuhan is evaluating the construction of an open pit mine and a 16.7 million-ton-per-year concentrator, with two 8.5 million-ton-per-year pelletizing lines. The project is the first phase of a $12.9 billion, three-phase project to develop a 300 million-ton-per-year, open pit mining operation with a 195 million-ton-per-year concentrator and a 50 million-ton-year pellet plant. The entire project is expected to have a 34-year mine life.

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All but roughly $4 billion of Quebec's $57 billion of mining-related TIV is attached to 95 projects that still are in the planning stages, where numerous factors could increase, decrease or cancel projected spending. Five projects with a TIV of $1.69 billion are in the engineering stages, and 21 projects with a TIV of $2.28 billion are under construction.

The largest of the construction-phase projects is Goldcorp Incorporated's (NYSE:GG) (Vancouver, British Columbia) $1.4 billion Eleonore underground gold mine in the Opinaca Reservoir, which is 190 kilometers northeast of Eastmain, Quebec. Goldcorp and its subsidiary, Les Mines Opinaca Ltee (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec), are building a cut-and-fill mining operation and a 7,000-ton-per-day gravity/cyanidation processing plant, which is expected to produce 600,000 ounces of gold per year over a 15-year mine life. The project is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.