Iron Ore Company of Canada (often abbreviated to IOC) (french: Compagnie Minière IOC) is a Canadian-based producer of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

. The company was founded in 1949 from a partnership of Canadian and American

M.A. Hanna Company M. A. Hanna Company was an iron ore processing company located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Origin The origins of the M. A. Hanna Co. are with Daniel F. Rhodes. In the 1840s Rhodes had founded Rhodes & Company which mined coal in the Mahoni ...

. It is now owned by a new consortium, including the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

and

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

corporations. Rio Tinto is the majority shareholder in the venture, with 58.7% of the joint stock as of October 2013. Mitsubishi controlled 26.2% of the investment as of March 2013. Based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, IOC currently has mining and concentrator operations in

Labrador City Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-Go ...

, and operates the

Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway The Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway is a private Canadian regional railway that stretches through the wilderness of northeastern Quebec and western Labrador. It connects Labrador City, Labrador, with the port of Sept-Îles, Quebec, on the ...

to ship ore concentrate from the mines, such as

Wabush Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a population ...

, to the port of Sept-Îles,

. Currently, this railway (along with the TSH, CFAQ, and WABL lines) form an isolated railroad network, as it does not interchange with any other rail lines on the North American network. During 1977 to 1983, the president of the company was

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

, who later served as the 18th

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

from 1984 to 1993.

GMD SW1200MG

IOC's Carol Lake mine near

Labrador City, Labrador Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centr ...

utilizes a small fleet of

GMD SW1200MG The GMD SW1200MG is a 4-axle electric locomotive built by General Motors Diesel between 1963 and 1971. The locomotive is the electric version of the diesel powered SW1200, with the prime mover replaced by a motor-generator set, hence the MG su ...

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

s to haul raw ore from the mine to a processing plant. The short electrified railway is the last remaining electrified cargo railway in Canada. The cargo trains are unmanned and fully automated, advancing block by block based on the condition of the block of track ahead. The motive power is SW1200 MG single units, each having a single phase AC motor driving the standard EMD traction generator and traction motors. A horn blows every few seconds as a constant warning that the trains are unmanned.

References

External links

Video showcasing IOC's GMD SW1200MG locomotives
Mining companies of Canada Joint ventures Companies based in Montreal Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies Non-renewable resource companies established in 1949 1949 establishments in Quebec Automated track-bound freight transport {{canada-company-stub

GMD SW1200MG

References

Further reading

External links