ON / Sudbury - Vale Mine - 2011-19 / ? & ?

[The Peregrine Chick]

2019 NESTING SEASON

Nothing left of Inco plant now but pieces
Jim Moodie / Sudbury Star / 2 April 2019

A pair of peregrine falcons now has an unimpeded view of the sunset. Late last week the last standing sections of an old Inco plant on MR 55 outside Copper Cliff came down, while the flashy raptors looked on from a nearby roost.

“They’re safely on the stack just behind us,” said Dan Gauthier, speaking from an office at the work site. “You see them in the mornings. There’s a couple of them there that come flying and squawking around.”  Gauthier, safety coordinator with JMX, the contractor on the demo job, said the falcons like to frequent a security shack on the Vale property and from time to time can be seen chasing off ravens.  The birds once inhabited the old kiln building itself, which meant Vale was unable to dismantle it, even though it had sat vacant for years.

The falcons were reintroduced to the Sudbury area in the late 1980s — around the same time the roaster kiln building, part of the ore-recovery plant, was shuttered — and started frequenting the site in the mid-2000s.  At the time the birds were considered an endangered species, although their numbers have stabilized enough now in Ontario to earn them the somewhat more reassuring status of “special concern.”  That means the species “is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats,” according to the province.

Eventually the raptors were coaxed out of the abandoned plant by a protected nesting box placed on an adjacent smokestack.  “I’m glad they moved out,” said Gauthier, who worked for many years as a miner and subcontractor before joining JMX last year. “Vale wanted to bring the building down in 2005-ish, but they just got the go-ahead in 2017 when the falcons moved out. They built them a fancy box on the stack and they decided, hey, that’s a better house.” 

Planning to tear down the structure began over two years ago, with the demo itself beginning in earnest last spring.  Unlike a high rise reduced to rubble in one detonation, however, the industrial building had to be taken down in careful steps, said Gauthier.  “It’s not the old wrecking-ball days,” he said. “You can’t just blast it. This was an iron ore plant and you don’t want dust from that going in the air or the lake, so you have to do it in sections. The environmental impact could be huge, but we managed to get her down safe.”  He said about 30-40 people were working at various times on the project, with some coming from far afield.  “We have specialized workers brought in from all over Canada, and even from Africa,” said Gauthier. “We fly in guys who are specialized in this kind of demolition.”  Some workers cut steel beams with torches, while others operated excavators with a 120-foot reach. It was essential to keep all the workers safe, noted Gauthier, which also contributed to the measured pace of the project.  JMX provides demolition and remediation services across the country, and Gauthier said it has been an interesting experience to work with this company on the Vale contract.  “I’ve definitely learned a lot from them,” he said. “Me, I’m a heavy machine operator and a miner, but I’ve never taken down a building before. So just to see the process and be a part of it was great.”

In its day, the ore plant was a significant employer, as well as ahead of its time in pursuing sustainability and emissions reductions, according to Vale. The plant recovered slurry byproducts that would have otherwise lingered in tailings ponds and created new products from waste material.  Changes in milling eventually made the operation obsolete, however. “We are now able to extract compounds formerly used in the pyrrhotite (which had previously been sent to the recovery plant), leaving less to remove in subsequent processing,” Vale explained.  Gauthier said the abandoned building had been a magnet for some kids and mischief makers, so it was definitely time to remove the hazard and clean up the site.  While the structure itself is gone, work remains to make the footprint as tidy and pristine as possible.  “It’s not just knock it down and walk away,” said Gauthier. “We process all the material like steel and salvage that, and then we’re doing environmental reclamation of the site.”

At the moment, the roaster kiln building has been reduced to “a million pieces on the ground,” he said. “But we’re going to make it look like there wasn’t a building here when we’re all done.”  The smokestack, meanwhile, continues to provide a useful function for the mining company, and it is expected to remain for some time yet.  So the falcons shouldn’t have to move again any day soon.

source: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/nothing-left-of-inco-plant-now-but-pieces

[The Peregrine Chick]

Peregrine falcons flocking to Vale site
Harold Carmichael / Sudbury Star / 27 June 2011

Make that four peregrine falcons calling Vale's mothballed Iron Ore Recovery Plant home.

"There are two chicks nesting in the nesting box that we built," said Angie Robson, a Vale spokeswoman. "It's great. That's where we want to encourage them to nest."  Vale staff had set up nesting boxes at the base of a smokestack next to the building for two adult peregrine falcons seen in the area in May. It was thought that the birds were nesting inside the building itself.

The two adults are believed to be either descendants of young peregrines brought from Alberta to Greater Sudbury in the early 1990s as part of Project Peregrine Sudbury or original birds released here.  They have been making the long-closed building off Fielding Road in Copper Cliff their summer home for four years.  In previous years, the two adults nested near awnings or window ledges on the building.

The presence of the nesting falcons has interrupted Vale's plans to take the Iron Ore Recovery Plant down because of the birds' status as an endangered species.  Peregrine falcons, which can reach speeds of up to 320 km/h in their dives to catch unsuspecting prey, eat a wide-ranging diet including other birds, such as pigeons, as well as snakes and rabbits.

During Project Peregine Sudbury, a four-year project involving Falconbridge Limited, Laurentian University, the World Wildlife Fund and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 91 young peregrine falcons were released in the area.  The young birds came from a captive breeding program in Alberta.  Hundreds of community volunteers monitored the movements of the released birds each year.

In the fall of 2007, the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario recommended downgrading the peregrine falcon from endangered to threatened in the province.  The peregrine falcon was almost wiped out in Ontario about 50 years ago due to exposure to pesticides.

Ontario's peregrine falcons spend the winter in American states, such as Georgia and Florida, and Mexico before returning in the spring.

Redux - Don't know where Mr Carmichael got his information on the peregrine diet ... 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Peregrines disrupt Vale's demo plans   
Harold Carmichael / Sudbury Star / 30 May 2011

It has been closed since 1980, but don't tell a pair of peregrine falcons.  As far as the endangered raptors are concerned, the upper parts of Vale's Iron Ore Recovery Plant off Fielding Road in Copper Cliff make for a perfect nesting area where they won't be disturbed.  In fact, the pair -- either descendants of young peregrines brought from Alberta to Greater Sudbury back in the early 1990s during Project Peregrine Sudbury or original birds released here -- have been making the long-closed building their summer home for four years.

"I would expect so," said Allison Merla, senior environmental analyst at Vale's Greater Sudbury operations. "Peregrines will return to the same nesting area year after year."  While the pair's nest was visible in previous years, it appears this year the nest is situated inside the structure.  "In past years, they have nested near awnings or window ledges," said Merla. "This year, we can't see the nesting site ... This year, we don't know. We haven't been able to locate a nest. In 2008, there were three young. In 2009, there were three young. In 2010, we don't know."

The reason that the birds' nesting site is not visible, said Merla, is likely due to the fact that it is inside the building.  "They have been seen in the area," she said. To try to encourage the birds to relocate out of the building, nesting boxes have been set up near the base of the nearby smokestack.  So far, the falcons have ignored it.

The presence of the nesting falcons has interrupted Vale's plans to dismantle the Iron Ore Recovery Plant due to the birds' status as an endangered species.  "We have been working with the Ministry of Natural Resources," said Merla. "The rules are clear with protecting endangered species. We're looking at coming up with a plan that would consider both the birds and health and safety. We would take it down in stages when the times of year when the peregrines are absent, such as the winter."

Merla said she is not surprised that peregrines have taken to using the long-dormant building, since skyscraper ledges are often used as nesting sites in large North American cities. "It's not typical to their nesting habits," she said. "They tend to like rock cliff faces." Merla said there could be as many as six peregrine falcon pairs living in the Greater Sudbury area.  "We know of two nesting pairs," she said.

Peregrine falcons, who can reach speeds of up to 320 km/h in their dives to catch unsuspecting prey in the air, eat a wide-ranging diet, including other birds, such as pigeons, as well as snakes and rabbits.  Project Peregrine Sudbury, a four-year project involving Falconbridge Limited, Laurentian University, the World Wildlife Fund and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, saw 91 young peregrine falcons released in the Sudbury area. The young birds came from a captive breeding program in Alberta.  Hundreds of community volunteers monitored the movements of the newly released birds each year.

In the fall of 2007, the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario recommended downgrading the peregrine falcon from endangered to threatened in the province.  The peregrine falcon was almost wiped out in Ontario about 50 years ago due to exposure to pesticides. Insecticides interfered with calcium intake, which is needed to produce hard eggshells.

Ontario peregrine falcons spend the winter in American states, such as Georgia and Florida, or Mexico before returning in the spring.

Don't know where Mr Carmichael got his information on the peregrine diet ... 

[dupre501]

2011 NESTING SEASON

Here is a story on peregines nesting at the Sudbury mines, they want to knock down the building that the birds nest on, but will have to wait until they confirm the falcons are not nesting there, or they will have to wait until after nesting season. It's okay, they have set up two other nestboxes to lure the birds away from their previous nest site, but will wait if they have to.


Rare falcons move into Sudbury mine sites
CBC News / 24 May 2011

Peregrine falcons are nesting in open pit mines and an abandoned ore plant near Sudbury, Ont.  The nesting sites are located on property owned by mining giant Vale, which has been forced to alter some of its plans to accommodate the birds, listed as a threatened species under Ontario's Endangered Species Act.

"Interestingly enough, they've picked this beauty of a building," said Alison Merla, a senior environmental analyst with Vale, as she pointed out the crumbling structure of brick, rusty metal and broken windows where a pair of peregrine falcons has nested each year since 2008. The company wants to demolish the building, a former ore recovery plant, saying it poses a health and safety hazard to both humans and the birds.  The demolition is on hold because of requirements under Ontario endangered species legislation to protect the birds.  The company has put up two nest boxes on a nearby smokestack, which will continue to be used for nickel refining, in the hopes that the birds will move.
Peregrine falcon comeback

In the 1950s, the peregrine falcon population was decimated by the use of the pesticide DDT. By the 1970s, there were very few left in Ontario. DDT was banned in Canada in 1985. The falcons have since made a comeback. There are now around 100 peregrine nesting sites across Ontario. The peregrine falcon was nationally downgraded from endangered to threatened in 2000 and is now listed as a species of special concern. In 2006, it was downlisted from endangered to threatened in Ontario.

"They've started perching in the area of those nesting boxes this year, which is fantastic news," Merla said. "We haven't been able to confirm that they are inside and nesting, but that their showing interest is definitely positive." Vale is also planning to discourage the birds from nesting in the building by covering the windows and ledges with snow fencing.  Provincial endangered species legislation bars the company from harming or killing the birds, said Eric Cobb, a species at risk biologist with the Sudbury district of Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources.

"If the birds do try to nest despite the harassment, then they have to be left alone," he said.  Once the birds have finished nesting, Vale is free to demolish the building.  Merla said the company is also monitoring falcons nesting in some of the company's open pit mines, with help from a Laurentian University biologist. Currently, no mining is being done at those particular sites. If work does begin, the company will need a special permit from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Urban Nests

Cobb said it's not surprising the birds have chosen the mines, as they resemble the natural cliffs where the falcons traditionally nested.  He added that the species has shown some tolerance to human activity. They have nested successfully in highrises in cities like Toronto and Ottawa, and there is a pair nesting this year under Windsor's Ambassador Bridge.  Merla noted that the species has now been downgraded from endangered to threatened status.

"One of the reasons that they've managed to make such a big comeback," she said, "is largely due to their adaptability."  In the Sudbury area, she also credited Vale's efforts to restore local habitat, creating attractive hunting grounds for the birds.

source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/05/24/environment-peregrine-falcons-sudbury.html