Valard Construction has a history of well over 40 years with expertise in utility infrastructure. We have built well over 11,000 kilometres of Transmission line in numerous provinces across Canada. As anyone in the infrastructure business knows, unforeseen issues and challenges can arise at any moment, and Valard is no exception. However, when Valard was awarded the Côté Gold Mine Transmission line near Gogoma, Ont. in 2020, it faced a challenge no one was prepared for.
COVID-19 was something the world was ill-prepared for, and the infrastructure business took a hit. Meeting deadlines looked nearly impossible with government restrictions, site restrictions, shutdowns, illness, lack of workforce, and supplier issues. To this day, there is a lasting impact on the supply chain, which means projects face lasting impacts on material procurement. The Côté Transmission line was 302 wood poles with 477 Hawk Conductor and hardware in rough terrain with nearly no access. During the project, we also experienced a standdown due to a forest fire, losing seven structures and associated hardware.
After we remobilized from the fire and rebuilt the seven structures, we faced another uncontrollable environmental challenge. A milder-than-usual winter caused more access issues. Despite all the problems, we finished the Transmission line on time and within budget. That helped us secure the substation and 13.8kv Distribution scopes within Côté Gold Mine and continue our relationship with IAMGold.
The 13.8kv Distribution line work began in late 2021, with Valard responsible for designing and constructing the numerous pole lines just as we did with the Transmission line. Valard will be completing the extra 13.8kv scopes awarded over the last few months at the end of November 2023, having successfully built 370 wood poles, installing and connecting 13 pad mount transformers, nine reclosers, seven loadbreak switches, 266, 366 & 1/0 ASCR and numerous pole mount transformers. Well over half the poles required rock bores, and some required underground /overhead road crossing installation utilizing 500 and 1000 mcm, design, and priority changes. The substation is currently in the commissioning phase, with Valard signing on to assist. The ongoing 13.8kv work was under the direction of Valard’s Ontario North Distribution Business Unit, with the substation under the direction of Valard’s Substation Business Unit & the Transmission Line by the Major Project Business Unit.
During the ongoing work at the Côté Gold Mine, Ontario North Distribution was awarded three more projects in the town of Dubreuilville: Alamos Gold Mine, Argonaut Gold at Magino, and Magino Gold Mine for Auseco. Using the Distribution crew’s knowledge learnt at Côté on mine sites, including mine safety rules, LV rules, and infrastructure required, they completed the original scope of work within roughly six to nine months. The Substation group was also awarded the substation for Alamos Mine. Ontario North Distribution now has crews working on completing extra scopes in Côté, Alamos, and Magino.
We look forward to new opportunities to collaborate in other mining projects in Ontario.
