Sustainability
At IOC we are committed to becoming a premier mining organization in North America. To achieve this goal, the way we do our work every day at IOC is just as important as the work that we deliver. Our commitment to health, safety, environment and communities (HSEC) is fundamental to how we do business.
Water

Water is a shared resource critical to sustaining biodiversity, people, and economic prosperity. Increasingly disrupted weather patterns and more extreme weather events due to climate change, combined with a growing world population, mean efficiently managing water is more important than ever.


Water Management
The provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec are home to a rich and diverse aquatic environment. For IOC, water management is an important risk to measure and monitor. We run a regular water quality monitoring programme to mitigate impacts on the aquatic environment and implement preventative and remedial actions when necessary. Our approach to water management is guided by mine life-cycle considerations and the nature of our extraction and refinement processes. From exploration to closure, we aim to minimize the impact of our operations on the water resources on our mine property and in the surrounding environment.

 

Cowboy Creek Rehabilitation
As part of our commitment to alleviating our environmental impacts in connection with the Wabush 3 project, we started a fish habitat compensation plan consisting of rehabilitation and stream restoration along approximately four kilometres of Cowboy Creek, a portion of which had been damaged by wildfires. The success of the rehabilitation will be measured for the next 10 years to ensure that we are managing our ecological commitments.

 

Ammonia modelling in Luce Pit

In 2024, we developed a digital model using years of analytical and operational data to help us understand which activities impact ammonia levels in effluent. We use this model to predict future water quality based on planned designs, product usage, and dewatering needs. The model will help Rio Tinto IOC determine the appropriate level of water treatment required for current and future mining areas.