Quebec wants to invest $26 million in Bloom Lake mine

The Quebec government announced Friday its intention to invest $26 million in the project to revive the mine at Lake Bloom, near Fermont, recently purchased by mining company Champion Iron.

The assets of the mine were put up for sale after the bankruptcy of Cliffs Quebec Iron Mining. In December, Champion Iron and its subsidiary Minerai de fer Québec announced their intention to buy the mine. Quebec Superior Court approved the sale of the assets the next month for $10.5 million.

If the mining company gets the necessary financing to complete the purchase, Quebec will invest $20 million from Capital Mines Hydrocarbures to support the transaction. Investissement Québec will offer, through its subsidiary Ressources Québec, a loan of $6 million to Minerai de fer Québec to support the project.

More than 500 people worked at the Bloom Lake mine when it went under.

Economy minister Dominique Anglade, who stressed the importance of the mining sector in the province’s economic growth, said in a statement she was “convinced that the acquisition of the assets of the mine at Bloom Lake will allow the enterprise to grow its competitiveness in the iron mining sector when the market conditions are again favourable.”