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In June 2002, Inco, through our wholly-owned subsidiary Voisey's Bay Nickel Company Limited (VBNC), and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador jointly announced an agreement in principle on a $1.9 billion (Cdn. $2.9 billion) plan to develop the Voisey's Bay deposit. The negotiated agreements entered into in early October 2002 consisted of a Development Agreement and an Industrial and Employment Benefits Agreement.
In 2002, we also signed landmark Impact and Benefits Agreements (IBAs) with both Innu Nation and Labrador Inuit Association regarding the long-term development of the project for many generations. For more insight into the IBAs see Aboriginal Partnerships.
As outlined in these agreements, our company has made a major socio-economic commitment to the people of the province to provide job and educational and business opportunities as well as royalties and tax revenues.
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Our Contribution
Our Voisey’s Bay project will bring considerable benefits to the province in the long term. We anticipate that, over the life of the project, benefits will include:
- Over 76,000 person years of direct and indirect employment in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Approximately 1,200 long-term, high quality jobs over the life of the project.
- An estimated $7.3 billion (Cdn. $11 billion) contribution to the GDP of Newfoundland and Labrador over the life of the project.
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| Total |
| Employees (a) |
58 |
| Wages, salaries and benefits other than post-retirement benefits (a) |
4.0 |
| Post-retirement benefits (a) |
0.2 |
| External employee training (b) |
0.5 |
| Expenditures for employee health programs (a) |
0.1 |
| Operating, capital and community-related expenditures |
170.0 |
| Employer tax contributions (a) |
- |
| Indirect taxes |
0.2 |
| Total contribution |
175.0 |
| Direct contribution to the community |
175.0 |
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| See Glossary for definitions of key terms including: post-retirement benefits; operating, capital and community-related expenditures; indirect taxes; and direct contribution to community. |
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Footnotes:
a) This table reflects employee-related expenditures relating to full-time VBNC employees and does not reflect the in excess of 1,000 people working as part of the construction workforce at the Voisey’s Bay mine and concentrator site during the 2003 construction season.
b) Figures reported under external employee training do not include training initiatives offered under JETA.
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Living Up to Our Commitments
October 3, 2003, marked the official opening of our new Voisey's Bay hydrometallurgical (hydromet) mini-pilot plant in Mississauga, Ontario.
The mini-pilot plant marks a significant milestone in our $134 million (Cdn. $203 million) research and development program aimed at confirming the commercial application of hydromet technology to treat Voisey's Bay concentrates. Hydromet technology offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional smelting and refining.
Scaled to about 1/10,000 of the size of a commercial hydromet plant, the mini-pilot plant will enable scientists and technicians to define the required process steps, the operating conditions and the engineering design parameters for a demonstration plant to be constructed in Argentia, Newfoundland, beginning in 2004.
Commenting on the opening of the mini-pilot plant, a senior official with the Department of Mines and Energy for Newfoundland and Labrador noted “Today marks another substantial step forward in the development plan for Voisey’s Bay. With the official launch of the mini-pilot plant phase of this project, Inco continues to demonstrate that it is living up to its commitments in the Development Agreement. This project will create hundreds of jobs for generations to come and inject billions of dollars into the provincial economy.”
No doubt his words were particularly meaningful for 11 co-op students and recent graduates selected from across Newfoundland and Labrador who are among the 65 employees working at the mini-pilot plant operation. It’s expected that some members of this group, who will be trained in the operation of a hydromet process specific to Voisey’s Bay concentrate, will find employment at the demonstration plant once it is operational. Noted Inco Chairman and CEO Scott Hand, “We’re helping these young people develop the knowledge and skills now which they can take back to Newfoundland and Labrador to help make this project a success in the years ahead.”
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