Thompson, Manitoba

Vale Inco’s Manitoba Operations, located in Thompson, Manitoba is comprised of two underground operations -- Thompson Mine and Birchtree Mine, as well as Thompson Open Pit. In addition, it has a 15,000-ton per day capacity mill; a smelter, which produces 1,400 anodes per day; and a refinery, which produces more than 130 million pounds of 99.9% pure electrolytic nickel annually.

Manitoba Operations was the world’s first fully integrated nickel mining and processing complex and has produced four billion pounds of nickel in its 50 years of operation.

Thompson, with a population of some 15,000, has grown to become Manitoba’s third largest city. Although its beginnings were the result of an agreement in 1956 between what was then the International Nickel Company of Canada and the Province of Manitoba, it has developed into a major northern transportation hub. A major highway system, rail line, seaplane base and airport all provide goods and services to northern remote communities. In fact, the Thompson airport is the second busiest in Manitoba.

Although mining led to the development of Thompson, the city is not relying on the mining industry alone for its continued growth. The city is a world leader in cold-weather testing for the automotive and snowmobile industries; and through the community economic development corporation known as Thompson Unlimited, is looking to expand this testing to other sectors.

A major partnership between Thompson residents, businesses and non-government organizations has led to the first major tourist attraction for the city – the Spirit Way. It is a walk that features 18 points of interested, from the world’s largest (and only) Robert Bateman mural painted on a 10-story building to a tribute to the four kinds of fire fighters/emergency responders in the city to the bush planes that helped develop the north.

The University College of the North is building a new campus, including dormitories; new commercial and residential lots are being developed; and partnerships through organizations such as the Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy and Thompson Chamber of Commerce are adding to the economic base of the city.

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© Vale Inco 2007
Last Updated: November 28, 2007