Name of the Project
Bloom Lake Phase II.

Location
Near the town of Fermont, in north-east Quebec, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Canadian iron-ore producer Champion Iron.

Project Description
Bloom Lake has mineral reserves of 807-million tonnes at an average grade of 29% iron.

A feasibility study has evaluated the combined Phase I and II mining plan, current concentrator plant at Phase I and completion of the Phase II concentrator plant. The results recommend an expansion of Bloom Lake, resulting in a life-of-mine (LoM) production averaging 15-million tonnes a year of high-grade 66.2% iron-ore concentrate.

Based on the new optimised mine plan, the mining rate will also be increased to accelerate the supply of ore to the expanded facilities while maintaining an LoM of 20 years. In addition to reserves at the Bloom Lake mine, Champion Iron also controls more than five-billion tonnes of resources south of current operations.

The Phase II mine plan continues with a conventional surface mining method using an owner mining approach. Electric hydraulic shovels will be complemented with front-end loaders to allow for a flexible mine plan. Additional drilling and hauling capacity will be added as mine tonnages increase.

The processing plant for the Phase II concentrator is based on the design of the operational Phase I, with minor changes to further improve performance. The recovery circuit is similar to the Phase I concentrator, with the addition of a stage of scavenger up-current classifier to increase recovery and improve response to feed variations.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to provide the Québec Côte-Nord region with more than 400 additional permanent jobs.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Under the base case assumption of an average LoM P65 price of $83.9/t, the project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of C$1.53-billion and an internal rate of return of 42.4%, with a payback of 2.4 years. Under this base case assumption, the combined value of Phase I and II has a pretax net present value of C$3.76-billion or about C$8.60/share.

Capital Expenditure
Champion Iron benefits from $1.2-billion already spent on the Phase II project by its predecessor. 

The completion of the project is estimated to require additional capital expenditure, estimated at C$589.8-million, which includes a 15% contingency.

Planned Start/End Date
Commercial production is expected by the end of 2022.

Latest Developments
Champion Iron has completed the first rail shipments, containing 24 304 wet metric tonnes of 66.2% iron-ore concentrate, from the Phase 2 expansion project at its Bloom Lake mine.

The commissioning of Phase 2 was achieved ahead of schedule and the company is working to gradually increase the mine and plant's capacity towards commercial production.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Champion Iron, tel +1514316 4858 or email info@championironmines.com.