$1.25M in federal funding earmarked to help Wabush iron ore company process manganese

The federal governmentis giving $1.25 million to Tacora Resources in Wabush in hopes of turning tailings into products.

Tacora Resourcesmanager of government and community relations Graham Lettosaid the companyhasbeen stockpiling manganese as a byproduct of itsiron ore mining operations for decades. The new funds will help Tacora research and plan a manganese sulfate purification plant, to extract the mineral.

"We have a long road ahead of us, but we know the markets are there, the demand is there. We have the raw material,"Lettosaid Tuesday. "So we are on the cusp of of a great thing."

The tailings from iron ore have17 per cent manganese content, and Tacorahasstockpiled 300,000 tonnes of the material so far,Letto said.

"We've proven that this product can be developed into a superior manganese alloy that can be used in anelectric battery system for electric cars," he said.

"We are producing in the lab through a process that we think will work in the grand scheme of things, a product that's 99.7 per centpure."

Area MP Yvonne Jones, who announced the funding on behalf of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said the funds are repayable and the project will help green the supply chain by using resources already mined.

"It will contribute to sustainable mining as well as increased employment, production capacity, provincial gross domestic product and royalty income," she said. Minerals mined in Labrador represented 90 per cent of the province's $5.2 billion in mineral shipmentsin 2022, she added.

More power capacity needed in Labrador West: Tacora

Letto said he wishesN.L. Hydro had been present at the announcement because ofLabrador West's need for power.

If there is going to be a manganese processing plant, or even more housing, Letto said, there needs to be more capacity built into the power grid.

"We all know we need the power if we're going to develop," hesaid.

Jones said work is being doneto train and attract people in the skilled trades who will be needed in Labrador West,along withinvestments with education institutions to provide courses in relevant skills.

"We're continuing to diversify in communities, making more housing available and working with the companies and towns to do those kinds of investments," she said.

"I really believe that if the jobs are there, people will come. They have to be assured that there's longevity in the employment."

Jones said there area number of developmentin Labrador West for housing, noting the recent federal government promise of$5 million toward housing initiatives for low-income women and families andworkto renovate 20 N.L. Housing units for families.

There's also ongoing work on housing for seniors, and mining companies are assessing their inventory of housing to see what can be given up to be accessed by the public, she said.

"So there's a lot of moving pieces around housing in Labrador West," said Jones."And you know, while we've landed on some good investments for different sectors, we still have work to do to grow the housing market there."

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador