Yes, BlackRock Metals is a proud Canadian company headquartered in Montreal with a mine in Chibougamau and a metallurgical plant in Saguenay both situated in the province of Quebec.

The mine is located near Chibougamau approximately 60 km south of downtown Chibougamau. Show map

The metallurgical plant will be located in the industrial port zone in Saguenay (La Baie), Quebec

BlackRock Metals benefits from the support of a mix of some of the leading Canadian and international institutional and private equity investors. We are also privileged to count on the support of the government of Québec, via its investment arm, Investissement Québec. This syndicate of investors bring a wealth of experience and support to the management team as we build the mine and metallurgical plant.

We aim to start construction at both the mine and the metallurgical facility in the Spring 2023 with the goal of ramping up and entering into production in 2026.

Yes, BlackRock has been working for many years to develop relationships of trust with local First Nations, which will lead to sustainable development for their communities over the long term. We are proud to have signed an Impact and Benefit Agreement with the Cree Nation Government and the community of Ouje-Bougoumou. We are also proud to have signed agreements with the Innu Nations of Mashteuiatsh, Essipit and Pessamit.

We have the necessary permits to proceed with our project at both sites. 

The vanadium titanium and magnetite concentrate (VTM) will be transported by truck from the mine to a loading facility located approximately 25km from the mine.  The Canadian National Railway (CN) and Roberval Saguenay Railway, will then transport the VTM concentrate to the metallurgical facility located in Saguenay.

Yes. To minimize the impact of additional traffic on HWY 167 and the mine access road, we will be providing transportation (by bus) to the mine site from Chibougamau, Chapais and Oujé-Bougoumou.

Most of the hiring will be done 3 to 6 months before the end of construction. Some specialized positions will be hired before this time frame (for example, environment, engineering, management, health, and safety).

BlackRock Metals will hire its team members from the pool of available, motivated, and qualified candidates, preferably from local communities and municipalities.
We would love to hire team members from, or willing to relocate to, the regions we operate in. To meet this objective, we are putting in place several measures which will encourage diversity and inclusion with a strong emphasis on attracting women and members of First Nations communities.

Make sure to visit our Careers page. We will be posting various positions on a regular basis. If you don’t see a position that fits your profile, please submit your resumé to, careers@blackrockmetals.com (or click to resumé filler). We are always looking for talented people to join our company. 

French is the predominant language in both our Quebec operations, but we encourage diversity so First Nation languages and English are viewed as complementary to the official language in Quebec We will make an effort to accommodate team members for whom French is a second language. Language lessons will be provided to ensure team members can communicate efficiently with one another. 

At the metallurgical facility in Saguenay, French will be the language of work and some positions may require English.

Yes. Training programs will be in place prior to start-up to ensure all team members receive adequate preparation to be successful in their jobs. These programs will include the technical aspects, including operation and maintenance of our equipment and machinery, etc.  Soft skill training, such as communications, conflict management, inter-cultural diversity and others, will be in place to ensure we have a strong foundation for our Company culture and values.

Yes, BlackRock Metals embraces diversity and will be providing cross-cultural training to all employees and will be implementing measures to ensure that every team member feels they belong. We have a zero-tolerance policy on discrimination and harassment and a formal escalation process is in place if incidents happen in the workplace.

Yes, we believe this is a great way to contribute to the development of the community and to develop new talent.

Operations and maintenance team members will be on a 12-hour work schedule. The actual rotation schedule has not been selected yet, but consideration will be given to the local workers’ needs. The schedules will be designed to encourage workers to live in the community (vs a fly-in/fly-out situation)Team members in support functions are eligible for flexible work arrangements which are established with each individual based on operation needs.

During the interview process, all information regarding compensation and benefits, including overtime, premiums, incentives, bonuses, statutory holidays, vacation, etc. will be explained so that candidates can make an informed decision about joining our Company.

Yes. The wellness of our team members is top priority for our Company, and we provide support and programs to ensure the well-being of our team members at work and at home.

One of our core values at BlackRock Metals is ZERO HARM. Therefore, we will not tolerate any use of drugs and alcohol at the work site. Testing will be done if we have reason to believe this principle has been breached, in any case, we will always respect legal requirements in this matter However, we will provide support to team members who are struggling with addiction through our Employee Assistance programs.

As per our agreements with First Nations and local communities and our commitments made during the public hearings (BAPE & COMEX), we will be maximizing economic benefits for local communities and local municipalities. BlackRock will favour awarding contracts to local suppliers to help support the communities and municipalities. In fact, in the Saguenay region, we are working with C-max towards meeting this goal, as long as the contractors meet the requirements and are competitive. In addition, we are working with numerous committees to maximize this impact.

Contractors will be asked to go through a qualification process before submitting bids. Details of the procurement process will be explained in the following link as soon as construction planning begins 

Many initiatives are identified in the agreements BlackRock Metals signed with the First Nation communities (Crees of Oujé-Bougoumou, Ilnus of Mashteuiatsh, Innus of Essipit and Pessamit). Joint committees have been formed and are actively working to ensure the agreements are implemented. These committees are organized around the following themes:

• Implementation of the agreement
• Environment and culture
• Employment and Training
• Business Opportunities

These joint committees have been put in place with representatives of the communities to ensure the measures identified in the agreements are implemented and that continuous dialogue and problem solving is in place.