Nearly 1,100 miles north of Montreal lies one of the world's richest nickel deposits with reserves estimated at more than 24 million tons. The owner's satisfaction with Kiewit's previous site infrastructure development contract was a key factor in the decision to award a $(C)50 million, seven-year open-pit mining contract. The joint venture, led by Construction Kiewit Cie, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, was responsible for mining two open-pit nickel deposits that supply 40% to 50% of the mill feed for the 1.1 million-ton per year concentrator.
Pit 2 mining began in 1997 and involved 3.4 million tons of drill and blast excavation resulting in the production of 928,000 tons of ore. Similarly, Pit 3 mining began in 1999 and required 5.6 million tons of drill and blast excavation that included the recovery of 760,000 tons of ore. Given the extreme cold, several artic equipment modifications were used, such as shrouding the engines to capture heat and using specialized arctic lubricants.
A key component was the ongoing partnership with the local Inuit aboriginal population to maximize training and employment opportunities, provide economic participation, and monitor and address local environmental issues. Approximately 30% of the work force consisted of local Inuit, requiring new training, communication and recruitment techniques. These included equipment and operations training to cross-cultural and language training.