Cliffs Natural Resources – Bloom Lake

 

In 2011, NAFCO was contracted to detail and fabricate the Bloom Lake iron-ore-handling system for Cliffs Natural Resources in Quebec, Canada. The project consists of a 2-1⁄2-mile super elevated and horizontal curving overland conveying system with associated support bents, transfer towers, and iron ore storage building. The storage building is a totally enclosed, A-frame design, 262 feet wide, 624 feet long, and 147 feet high, weighing approximately 2,500 tons.

 

It features numerous massive, deep-truss, fully welded box girders connected by structural-steel roof-truss panels and houses a 72-inch-belt-width by 600-foot-long tripper conveyor.

 

Most of this project was fabricated using special mill-ordered cold-weather steel to meet the design requirements of the area’s extreme weather conditions (to -40 °F). NAFCO’s Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) certification was a requirement.

 

The project included approximately 12 million pounds of fabricated steel—including structural steel, miscellaneous steel, handrails, platforms, and grating, as well as a sophisticated multi-coat paint system—and is projected to handle more than 16 million tons of raw iron ore per year.

 

This project was completed in 2013.