TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Stornoway Diamond Corp has received the first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its Renard project, in Quebec’s far north, marking a significant milestone in the province’s Northern Plan to provide critical infrastructure for businesses to thrive in the province’s remote regions.

The first LNG was delivered on site during a ceremony on June 13, with Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Northern Plan Pierre Arcand, energy provider Gaz Métro president and CEO Sophie Brochu, Stornoway VP and COO Patrick Godin, and representatives of Investissement Québec in attendance.

The start of LNG supply to Northern Quebec marked a significant milestone in deploying the province’s 2030 Energy Policy and the Northern Plan, with the Renard diamond mine – the province’s only diamond mine and located in the Otish mountains, more than 1 040 km from Montreal – being the first client.

"Stornoway has made the Renard mine a concrete example of an innovative mining project that is giving Québec visibility in the mining world. By opting for natural gas rather than diesel to run its power plant, Stornoway is reducing its greenhouse-gas emissions by 43% and significantly reducing its emissions of nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide - proof of the impact that choosing LNG can have.

“The start of delivery of LNG to the Renard mine is the result of the vision, leadership and expertise of all our teams at Gaz Métro, Stornoway and the transporter Servitank, to implement solutions for delivering LNG over such a long distance. Road service is a proven, safe and flexible solution, which is the most appropriate way to serve regions that are a long way from the gas network." Gaz Métro's Brochu stated.

In the fall of 2014, the Quebec government, Investissement Québec and Gaz Métro announced a project to expand its Montréal liquefaction, storage and regasification plant to meet the needs of regions that are remote from the gas network, particularly Northern Quebec and the Côte-Nord. Through Investissement Québec, government took a $50-million stake in the Gaz Métro subsidiary, Gaz Métro LNG, which was responsible for this expansion project and for marketing LNG.