Former Alderon chief executive rejoins board

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The former president and CEO of Canadian project developer Alderon Iron Ore, Tayfun Eldem, has rejoined the company’s board with immediate effect, replacing John Baker, who had been with Alderon since 2010.

The TSX-listed company stated on Tuesday that Eldem was Alderon's president and CEO until August 2015, when the developer placed its cornerstone Kamistiatusset (Kami) iron-ore project, in Labrador, on the back burner owing to the depressed iron-ore industry and changes in ownership and management of assets in the Labrador Trough.

Eldem rejoins the company’s development effort at a time when Alderon is nearing completion of a re-scoping process on the project.

"As we are in the final stages of the re-scoping exercise for the Kami project, Tayfun's experience at the board level will be invaluable going forward," stated chairperson and CEO Mark Morabito.

Eldem is currently MD of iron-ore and coal for Hatch, where he is responsible for global business development overseeing operations in six regions of the world and working with key clients including BHP Billiton, Vale, Rio Tinto, ArcelorMittal and Anglo American. He is also MD of Eastern North America for Hatch, covering mining and metals, infrastructure and energy sectors in Quebec, Atlantic Canada and Eastern US.

Alderon expects to announce the results of the re-scoping process in the current quarter.

The focus of the re-scoping process has been to recallibrate the capital and operating costs of the Kami project to identify savings that have arisen from the current depressed state of the market and changes in ownership and management of assets in the Labrador Trough, the idling of the neighbouring Wabush Scully mine (previously owned by Cliffs Natural Resources) and evaluating strategic alternatives for the company.

Alderon has been evaluating the use of the pit at the Wabush mine that is located in Wabush, about 6 km from the Kami project, for tailings storage. Mining operations at the Wabush mine were suspended in March 2014, with the large majority of the workforce being laid off shortly thereafter. The Wabush mine was permanently idled in November 2014.

Alderon will also look at opportunities to access the multi-user port being developed by the Quebec government in the Pointe-Noire area of the Port of Sept-Ȋles. The company believes that access to the multi-user terminal facility will result in significant capital cost savings, as it will no longer need to build its own stockyard and materials handling facilities. The multi-user terminal facility will allow the company to connect to the completed multi-user dock facility through which the company has an existing contract to ship eight-million tonnes a year of ore.

The price of 62% iron-ore fines has recovered to about $80/t from a low of under $40/t in December 2015.