Port of Churchill to double its critical mineral shipment capacity this year
Tripled storage capacity also planned for northern Manitoba port, ownership group says
Manitoba's northern port will ship double the amount of critical minerals it shipped last year, its ownership says.
Arctic Gateway Group, a partnership of dozens of First Nation and Bayline communities that own and operate the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, say they plan to ship 20,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate via the port this year in partnership with Hudbay Minerals.
Hundreds of train cars carried 10,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate to the port, where it was shipped last August, marking its first export shipment of a critical mineral in over two decades, the group said.
There are also plans to triple the port's storage capacity for critical minerals to 30,000 tonnes, said Chris Avery, CEO of Arctic Gateway Group.
"That will give us greater capacity to store critical minerals that will be carried out by the railway," he said.
The federal and provincial governments announced nearly $80 million in new funding for the port and railway last month, which is intended to finish work on the railway and continue the redevelopment of the port.
The port has seen renewed interest as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs against Canadian goods prompted leaders to consider diversifying their trade partners beyond the States.
However, Avery says the port's boosted capacity was in the works before Trump stepped back into the Oval Office.
"This is something we were talking about before President Trump was elected, but certainly now with the talks of tariffs and Canada being the 51st state, a lot of what we're doing is amplified even more."