Plant coming soon, Voisey's Bay Nickel tells Long Harbour

Voisey's Bay Nickel insists it will honour its previous owner's commitment to process nickel in a southern Newfoundland community.

However, a company official told residents of Long Harbour on Tuesday that a decision will not be made until 2008 on how to process ore from the Voisey's Bay mine, in northern Labrador.

Voisey's Bay Nickel has been testing hydromet technology at a small plant in nearby Argentia.

President Robert Cooper told a business audience that the future of a processing plant is not in doubt, now that Companhia Vale do Rio Doce's takeover of Inco is complete.

"The commitment is there so it will go ahead," Cooper said. "That's very important."

Some people in the Placentia Bay area had been anxious about company's intentions since the spring, when Voisey's Bay Nickel asked the Newfoundland and Labrador government for more time to analyze its processing options.

At the time, the company said the water-based hydromet process had limitations.

Cooper said while the company deals with those issues, it is moving ahead. Voisey's Bay Nickel has already bought a wharf in the town and is in the process of buying two pieces of land, where the plant will be built.

Mayor Gary Keating said the town of just 300 is getting calls from former residents who want to move home to work with Voisey's Bay Nickel.

"This is a massive project," Keating said.

"It's going to provide some major stimulus to the town and to the region and …the whole province," he said.

About 2,000 people will be needed for the plant's construction. The operating workforce will range between 400 and 500.

"We are looking forward to that and we are preparing for that," Keating said.

Chris Newhook, a director with the Argentia Area Chamber of Commerce, said it was important for the business community to hear that construction will start next year.

"It's important for the business community to hear it as well and to get the confidence that this is a reality," Newhook said.

"This project is coming and it's coming next summer."

The mine at Voisey's Bay went into production in 2005. Ore is currently being shipped to CVRD facilities in Sudbury, Ont.,and Thompson, Man.

The next step for the processing facility is an environmental assessment, which is scheduled to begin in October.