02/23/2026
Feb 20th, 2026
Greeting, Sisters, Brothers and Siblings.
We have all had a chance to digest the news delivered to us on Thursday morning and there are lots of questions you may have. It has been about a year now when we were told that the company was divesting the Mb Operations and now “Vale has partnered with three companies — Exiro Minerals Corp., Orion Resource Partners LP and Canada Growth Fund Inc. — to create a new business that will be known as Exiro Nickel Company.”
This news is a good development for us as we have been mining to extinction, and the concern was a closure in the future. This agreement will better serve our future of mining here which means we all can keep working and reap the rewards of continued operations for years to come.
For now, we will continue to operate under Vale for and estimated period of 6 months until Exiro takes control of Mb Operations. I believe that Vale has found a good match for our operations, and we trust they will be good caretakers of our mine, community and most of all you the workforce. We can expect that there will be some changes as we leave a large corporation and work with a new entity. The deal was very complex and there are several partners involved who will help ensure we can be successful in our new arrangement. I thank everyone who worked to make this happen. This deal started with the senior leadership of Vale Canada understanding that the Mb Operations would be better served under the arrangement that now has a new champion for livelihood of our community. Now it is up to us to work to ensure we all thrive in a cyclical nickel market.
Know that all USW 6166 members will continue under our collective bargaining agreement that is intact until September 15th, 2028, as we have succession rights. We do have to work on how the pension will be managed with the sale, but the benefit it provides continues as per the C.B.A.
We remain optimistic that the new team will deliver on the many promises stated in the news articles that have been in the media. We intend on creating a future with Exiro that will honour the heritage handed to us from our predecessors. I am sure we all expect to see changes, and I hope that every member will be able to engage in the challenges and rewards this new deal provides for us. For now, please keep your mind on working safely so everyone goes home at the end of the day unharmed.
In Solidarity
Warren Luky
