Quebec Rail To Help Plan Nord

Canada’s biggest railroad wants to build a $5-billion rail line to ship iron ore from Northern Quebec to port. This development would be a crucial link that could transform Canada into the world’s third-largest producer of Iron ore.

Stretching from the Port of Sept-Îles on the St. Lawrence River to north of Schefferville, on the border between Quebec and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the line will pass numerous mining projects in the Labrador Trough – a geological formation rich in iron ore. Montreal-based Canadian National Railway Co.’s 800-kilometre project, backed by Quebec’s public pension fund would not be functional until 2017 if approved.

There are already two rail lines in the region, but their capacity is lacking the means to meet demand from planned new mines in northern Quebec and Labrador. The Quebec government says the region represents potential private investments of more than $20 billion. This would bring a large boost to CN’s annual revenue.

Assuming the Labrador Trough projects go ahead, as well as the huge Mary River mine on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, Canada could produce as much as 250 million tonnes a year by 2020.