en.Wedoany.com Reported - Champion Iron Limited (Champion) announced that it has produced direct reduction (DR) grade iron ore from its Direct Reduction Pellet Feed Project (DRPF Project) at the Bloom Lake Mine in Quebec, Canada. The project was completed within the recently estimated budget of US$500 million, with the first commercial sales of Capesize bulk vessels expected in the third quarter of 2026, each carrying at least 160,000 wet metric tonnes. Production capacity will gradually increase thereafter, with commercial production targeted by the end of the company's current fiscal year.
With the DRPF Project now operational, the company has signed a commercial agreement covering a portion of its near-term capacity and is engaging with multiple potential global customers to secure agreements for the remaining capacity.
David Cataford, CEO of the company, stated that the first production of DR-grade iron ore once again highlights the team's ability to deliver large-scale projects. Leveraging the quality of resources from the Labrador Trough, the company has signed a commercial agreement with a globally renowned group, confirming the growing market demand for DR-grade iron ore. The company is committed to establishing long-term partnerships with steel manufacturers while strengthening the position of Quebec and Canada in the low-carbon steel manufacturing supply chain.
The DRPF Project aims to upgrade half of Bloom Lake's capacity to produce DR-grade pellet feed with an iron (Fe) grade of up to 69% and a combined silica and alumina content of less than 1.2. This project is expected to make Bloom Lake one of the world's highest-purity iron ore producers and may command a significant premium over its current high-purity iron concentrate with 66.2% iron. Bloom Lake's high-purity, low-contaminant iron ore products have already achieved a premium relative to the P61 index (formerly the P62 index).
Demand and premiums for DR-grade iron ore are supported by the steel industry's transition to low-carbon production routes, including the adoption of direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking technologies. These processes require higher-purity iron ore feedstocks, such as DR-grade pellet feed, to achieve optimal metallurgical performance and reduce emission intensity. With the high-purity products from the Labrador Trough and access to hydropower, the carbon footprint of high-purity iron ore production in Quebec and Canada is among the lowest globally, helping to expand their role as a strategic supplier of critical minerals and drive decarbonization in the steel industry.
Champion is a high-purity iron ore producer with operations in Canada and Norway, owning and operating the Bloom Lake mining complex through Quebec Iron Ore Inc. Located approximately 13 kilometers north of Fermont, Quebec, the mine is an open-pit operation with two processing plants, primarily powered by renewable hydroelectricity. It has a total nameplate capacity of 15 million wet metric tonnes per year, producing low-contaminant, high-purity iron concentrate with 66.2% iron, and has demonstrated the ability to produce direct reduction-grade iron concentrate with 67.5% iron. Champion also owns and operates Rana Gruber AS, an iron ore producer in Mo i Rana, Nordland, Norway, producing approximately 1.8 million dry metric tonnes of hematite and magnetite iron concentrate annually. Additionally, Champion holds a 51% interest in the Kami Iron Mine Partnership, jointly owned with Nippon Steel Corporation and Sojitz Corporation, located approximately 21 kilometers southeast of Bloom Lake.
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