BECANCOUR. A team from the Vale company will be present at the Auberge Godefroy this Thursday, June 27, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., to present the main lines of its upcoming nickel sulfate plant project in the Bécancour industrial and port park. (Transition Énergétique Métaux Vale Québec Inc.).
“We want to talk about our company and the environmental effects of our project,” says Rachel Meehan, spokesperson for Vale in Canada.
The activity is open to the entire population, who will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and make comments to the team present. These interventions will allow Vale to improve its project and the impact study that accompanies it.
“We will submit our impact study to the ministry in October,” said Ms. Meehan. Until then, the company wants to collect as many comments as possible “so that we can make a good submission and so that the Ministry of the Environment can make a good evaluation” of the project, she adds.
“This study will be a rigorous evaluation [du projet]. We focus, among other things, on air quality, quality of life, traffic, social effects (jobs, effects on accommodation) and all sorts of other aspects likely to affect the community. So if people have any questions or comments [à formuler], this is their chance to talk about it with us. Because the more comments we receive, the more we can improve our project. »
Ms. Meehan emphasizes that the company is also in contact with several local stakeholders, such as the City of Bécancour and the Chamber of Commerce. But this Thursday, it is with members of the community that she wishes to exchange. These will include the Vale base metals team and the consulting engineering firm WSP.
The factory project
The Transition Énergétique Métaux Vale Québec Inc. plant will be built right next to that of Ultium Cam, to which it will supply its liquid nickel sulfate by pumping (pipeline).
The factory will be a single-storey building occupying an area of 6,160 square meters. It will be 18 meters high. “It will be quite small,” comments Ms. Meehan. We think we have maybe seventy employees. So, compared to other factories in the park, we are quite small. »
The company will hire chemists, electrical technicians and machine operators. These employees will be supervised by different professionals such as engineers, health and safety specialists or managers. “As the opening of the factory is not imminent, we are not receiving any CVs at the moment,” we would like to point out.
No date has yet been set for the start of construction. However, Vale expects to get the green light in late 2025 or early 2026, “if all goes well.”
“The construction will be quite long,” reveals Ms. Meehan. I think if we start in early 2026, the plant should be completed by the end of 2027 or early 2028. About 300 workers will work on site during construction. »
For the moment, it is not possible to know the exact amount of the investment that will be made by Vale in Bécancour. We only know that it will amount to “several million dollars”.
As soon as it is established, Vale plans to be actively involved in the community. “We are an international company, and we already do a lot of work like that. We are present in Canada (Ontario, Newfoundland, Manitoba and, soon, Quebec), but also in Brazil, Wales, Indonesia and Japan. We make donations all the time. It’s something we like to do. So it’s certain that Vale will financially support projects for the community. In fact, we were sponsors of an energy forum organized by the CRECQ in May,” mentions Rachel Meehan.
She points out that citizens will be invited to another activity in August, probably on the 28th, during which the Vale team will present the comments, questions and criticisms received. The location has yet to be determined.
You can find out more about the Vale project by following this link: www.valebecancour.ca
