The government of Canada has awarded Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) C$18.1-million to support the decarbonisation of iron-ore processing at its operations in Labrador West.
The funding from the Low Carbon Economy Fund will enable IOC to reduce the amount of heavy fuel oil that is consumed in the production of iron-ore pellets and concentrate.
IOC will install an electric boiler to displace emissions from the usage of the heavy fuel oil boilers, as well as instrumentation and fuel-efficient burners to further reduce heavy fuel oil consumption by induration machines.
Over the lifetime of this project, IOC will see a cumulative reduction of about 2.2-million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Installation of the new equipment will begin in the second quarter of 2024 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. The project will create more than 100 jobs during the construction and implementation stages in Labrador West.
“Rio Tinto IOC has a plan to decarbonise and continue producing some of the lowest carbon-intensity high-grade iron-ore products in the world, right here in Canada. This project alone will eliminate approximately 9% of IOC’s GHG emissions,” said IOC president and CEO Mike McCann.
The Government of Canada’s contribution represents about 25% of the total cost of the project, with IOC funding the remainder of the investment.
“Through the Low Carbon Economy Fund, the Government of Canada is partnering with climate leaders nationwide to cut emissions. I applaud the leadership shown by IOC for helping to keep our air clean and build resilient communities in Newfoundland and Labrador,” commented Labrador Member of Parliament Yvonne Jones.