"I came to IOC in 2002 after working with QIT (the Rio Tinto company based in Sorel, Quebec) for 27 years. You have to remember that the launching pad wasn't there at that time, and that steel markets weren't good then either, so to fix it was going to be quite a challenge.

"Since then we've completely replaced our fleet of haul trucks, with three more being delivered this year, we've acquired a new shovel, we have commissioned a new drill and a new front end loader. The trucks haul ore to loading 'pockets', where the load is dumped into wagons on a 10km driverless train system [known as the ATO or Automatic Train Operation].

"Two of the three pockets have been rebuilt since 2003, and one of the two ore crushers has been replaced, with the second due to be replaced in 2006. We've done a lot of major work on our plant and equipment."

At the concentrator, a number of projects are either completed or are under way. For example, one of the spiral lines has been completely replaced, giving increased and better performance. The magnetite and haematite plants have both been upgraded, with magnetic drums replaced by larger more efficient units. All this has been handled incrementally, and IOC is seeing the benefits today, with higher throughputs and better weight recovery.

In the pellet plant - IOC's main process - maintenance procedures have been improved, increasing reliability and availability. Says Mike: "One of the key improvements has been the application of 'maintenance alignment' to our six indurating machines. Through the efforts of the work teams we found a way to maintain both the upstream and downstream equipment at the same time as the indurating machine.