On May 17 Champion Iron announced its agreement to purchase the Pointe Noire Iron Ore Pelletizing Facility in Sept-Iles, Quebec, for $2.5 million.

Champion, through its subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore, operates the Bloom Lake iron mine in northeastern Quebec. Champion purchased the mine in 2017, turning it from an operation deemed unviable into one currently working towards production of 15 million tonnes of iron concentrate per year. The new pellet facility is located directly adjacent to the port facilities that Champion uses for its shipments.

The plant, built in 1965 with an annual capacity of six million tonnes per year, was placed into care and maintenance in 2013 after Cliffs Natural Resources – the former owners of Bloom Lake who have since rebranded to Cleveland-Cliffs – rid itself of its Canadian facilities. Champion will be purchasing the plant from the Sociéte Ferroviaire et Portuaire de Pointe-Noire S.E.C. (SFPPN), a private-public partnership operating rail transport and commodities handling for natural resources industries.

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According to Champion, the plant will require “significant investments prior to re-commissioning, including structural work, rehabilitation and enhancement of existing equipment, to maximize productivity and energy efficiencies while minimizing environmental impact.” As such, the announcement also included the declaration that the company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an unnamed international steelmaker to complete a feasibility study evaluating the re-commissioning of the plant to produce direct reduction grade pellets, expected in 2023. Should the findings of the study be satisfactory, Champion and its partner are expected to create a joint venture dedicated to producing pellets to sell to third parties.

Before Champion can take control of the plant, however, it will be required to meet specific requirements, including “a commitment to design and operate [the plant] using exclusively green energy sources.”

“The proposed acquisition of the [pellet plant] represents a strategic opportunity for our [company] to further deploy its vision to contribute to the green steelmaking supply chain,” Champion CEO David Cataford said. “This project, together with other opportunities for organic growth, aim to create a positive impact for local communities and represents an additional step to unlock the region’s full potential, including additional product processing and transformation, as demand for high-purity iron ore products rises globally.”