Terence F. Bowles, president and CEO of Iron Ore Company of Canada

IOC, whose first shipment was made in 1954, has more than 1 billion tons of reserves and a wealth of unexplored resources. It also employs close to 1,900 people and operates in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec.

Such assets will allow IOC to stay ahead of the competition and continue to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of iron ore pellets for many years to come.

In a recent interview, CEO Terence F. Bowles talked about the industry from a global perspective and shared his plans on how IOC will remain a leader in its field.

On IOC’s recent developments:
We’ve increased production by 11 percent during the last four years through investing in our infrastructure. IOC is implementing an expansion project to increase concentrate production by almost 1 million metric tons to 17.5 million metric tons a year.

On IOC’s relationship with Japan:
IOC has an excellent relationship with Japan through Mitsubishi, which has been a very important part of IOC since becoming a shareholder in 1992. Mitsubishi helps to sell IOC products, particularly in Japan, through its 50 percent shareholding in the IOC Ore Sales Co.

An aerial shot of one of IOC’s mines

On IOC’s global focus:
While we ship a large amount of iron ore to Europe and North America, we also sell to Australia, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea. We expect to see significant growth in Asia, particularly China, and the Middle East, where direct reduction operations will require an ever-increasing supply of high-quality iron ore pellets.

On IOC’s top priorities:
Our top priority is to continue to improve our safety performance. We have achieved significant improvements during the last four years. We also must continue to provide a good return to our shareholders and be an important part of the local communities in which we operate.

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