So long, Superstack – Vale to dismantle Sudbury's famous landmark

Vale is moving ahead with dismantling the Superstack in Greater Sudbury, the mining giant announced Wednesday.

The Superstack, along with the less famous Copperstack, are being taken down at the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex as Vale completes its $1 billion Clean Atmospheric Emissions Reduction (Clean AER) project "a cornerstone initiative in our ongoing, long-term environmental stewardship program for Sudbury," the company said in a news release.

"The Superstack and Copperstack have been iconic landmarks in Greater Sudbury for decades," Gord Gilpin, Vale's director of Ontario operations, said in the release.

"While we appreciate that the city’s landscape will look different after these structures are dismantled, our business has evolved and improved over time and this project is part of that evolution. We are modernizing our facilities and reducing our environmental footprint and, in so doing, laying the groundwork to ensure that our next century of mining in Sudbury is as successful as our first 100 years."

The Clean AER project reduced annual emissions in the city by 100,000 metric tonnes of sulfur dioxide emissions each year.

Vale said that's the equivalent of 1,000 railway tanker cars of sulphuric acid. The reduction means the company's emissions are now 30 per cent below provincial standards.

"The superstack has been inactive since 2020, symbolizing our significant progress toward cleaner air and a healthier environment," Vale said.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

"The dismantling of these two assets will be spread over multiple years and will be done according to strict safety protocols. Minimizing disruptions to the neighbouring community will also be a priority."

The Copperstack will be dismantled by 2025. The larger Superstack is expected to take about five years.

Vale has details about how the Copperstack will be dismantled – which involves removing it in basketball-sized chunks starting from the top – in a YouTube video.

The company is still working on exactly how it will dismantle the Superstack. Vale is also taking input from the public on how to remember the Superstack. More on that here.