Atlantic Canada's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 42
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ATLANTIC CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
Hiring locally drives productivity at Vale Base Metals
W
hen he was
growing up,
Tyler Pamak
never expected
to work for
a mining company. An Inuit
man and resident of Labrador’s
northern-most community of
Nain, Pamak’s lifestyle is closely
tied to the land. Yet today, he is
a mill-operations trainer with 13
years of experience working at the
Vale Base Metals (VBM) Voisey’s
Bay nickel mine in Labrador.
After working here and
understanding the strict
guidelines and controls
that are in place to
protect the land and the
people who use the land,
my eyes were opened
to how environmentally
conscious the company
is.
— Tyler Pamak
Mill-Operations Trainer
VBM operates globally,
supplying critical minerals from
mining and processing operations
in Canada, Brazil, the United
Kingdom, Japan and Indonesia.
Its operations centre is based in
Toronto. In Canada, the company
employs over 7,000 people
across Manitoba, Ontario, and
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The latter is home to the Voisey’s
Bay mine and the Long Harbour
processing plant, where 98 per
cent of employees are from
Tyler Pamak, mill-operations trainer, at Vale Base Metals' Voisey's Bay mine.
the province.
Located on the island portion
of Newfoundland and Labrador,
Long Harbour Processing Plant
refines concentrate from the mine
site into finished nickel, copper
and cobalt. This state-of-the-art
facility employs roughly 500
people, with over 25 per cent from
nearby communities.
The Voisey’s Bay mine is set
by a rugged, island-filled bay
along the Labrador coast. It
hosts one of the world’s largest
nickel deposits and is a key
source of copper and cobalt. As
a fly-in, fly-out operation with
two-week rotations, it employs
approximately 1,200 people — of
whom 22 per cent are Nunatsiavut
and Innu Nation members living
in Labrador.
“When I first joined Vale Base
Metals, I didn’t have a lick of
knowledge about mining,” Pamak
says. “They gave me that job and
training through the entry-level,
job-readiness program. They
expected me to work hard and
prove myself. I was able to work
up into other jobs and take
advantage of opportunities that
I would have had a much harder
time finding anywhere else.”
Pamak used to hunt and fish
in the region that the mine now
occupies. “I was concerned that
the mine had destroyed my
backyard and that it was very
harmful for the environment,”
Pamak says. “But after working
here and understanding the strict
guidelines and controls that are
in place to protect the land and
the people who use the land,
my eyes were opened to how
environmentally conscious the
company is. Just now, I can look
out the window and see that the
land still looks untouched, even
though there is a mine site right in
the centre of the view.”
Pamak’s employment at Voisey’s
Bay allows him to continue living
a life close to the land in the
community where he grew up and
to teach his children about the
Inuit way of life, he says. “Without
VBM, I don’t know if I’d still be in
Nain, practising my culture.”
For Aaron McCarthy, chief
human resources officer, hiring
locally and supporting local
communities is an imperative.
“From a business perspective, if
you can hire people who were
