First critical mineral shipment from Port of Churchill in decades

For the first time in over two decades, an export shipment of critical minerals has departed from the Port of Churchill.

The zinc concentrate shipment marks a significant milestone in Arctic Gateway Group’s (AGG) work to revitalize the Hudson Bay Railway, diversify the Port of Churchill and seize the opportunity to further develop Canada’s Arctic trade corridor to global markets.

Over the past two months, more than one hundred rail cars of zinc concentrate from Hudbay Minerals Inc. (Hudbay) operations in Snow Lake, Man., were delivered to the Port of Churchill. The zinc concentrate was then stored temporarily at a recently built storage facility, which is the first new building at the port in over 20 years. This new storage facility is the first step in a broader plan to significantly increase critical minerals storage capacity at the Port of Churchill.

“We’re building a new era of economic development and international trade for northern Manitoba while strongly supporting the principles of Indigenous reconciliation,” said Mike Spence, chair of AGG and mayor of Churchill. “Thanks to the strong partnership that we have developed between the Indigenous and northern ownership group, the Government of Canada, and the Province of Manitoba, we’ve been able to improve the reliability of our operations and secure new contracts to export Canada’s critical minerals to international markets.”

In addition to today’s critical minerals export shipment, the Port of Churchill also loaded a second vessel of essential northern resupply items in mid-July, including construction equipment, vehicles, and an array goods for the people and businesses in the Arctic. With a $60 million investment by the federal and provincial governments in 2024, this construction season AGG is set to complete major capital upgrades on the Hudson Bay Railway, purchase essential port handling equipment and lay the groundwork for future growth and port developments.

These investments are made possible through the shared vision for a reliable, efficient and financially profitable Arctic trade corridor, supported by the Government of Manitoba, the Government of Canada, and the Arctic Gateway Group. AGG said it looks forward to continuing this partnership as it progresses to the next phase of development. When fully realized in 2028, the potential benefits of the Arctic Gateway port and railway are expected to:

• Reduce shipping time and costs for key international markets and more competitively priced imports and exports.
• Generate over $1 Billion annually in associated economic activity for the Canadian economy.
• Support over 5,500 jobs annually, including indirect jobs in associated industries such as construction and transportation.
• Be a model for economic reconciliation, which is a key focus of AGG’s unique ownership group of Indigenous and northern communities.
• Provide Canada with multi-use infrastructure that enables a stronger assertion of Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.
• Give Canadian imports and exports an alternate deep sea arctic port that is accessible by rail, strengthening Canada’s supply chain.
• Reduce costs of resupply shipments to arctic communities.