Voisey's Bay Nickel Mine

Voisey's Bay, Newfoundland

Kiewit led the joint venture selected for this $250 million design-build project. Located 330 kilometers north of Goose Bay and with winter temperatures below -20°C, access to the mine is limited to sealift and air transport. As such, mobilization of personnel, materials and equipment resources was critical to meeting schedule objectives.

The scope of work consisted of moving 6 million cubic meters of material; drilling and blasting one million cubic meters of rock; placing 32,000 cubic meters of structural concrete and 10,000 cubic meters of lean concrete; building 25 kilometers of roads; crushing 270,000 cubic meters of rock; building a four-cell marine dock; and installing two kilometers of culverts and 45 kilometers of pipeline. Operations were concentrated in four major areas — the mine area, mill site, port site, and permanent airstrip and docking facilities.

Peaking at 550 onsite personnel, the team included Innu, Inuit and Metis aboriginal groups and 16 trade unions, as well as numerous local partners. Successful partnering efforts, in addition to comprehensive training and safety programs, ensured on-budget and ahead-of-schedule performance throughout construction, while integrating multiple ethnic groups into a seamless, cohesive team.