Vale said it is marking another major milestone of its $1-billion Clean AER Project with the delivery of a second new converter vessel to its Copper Cliff Smelter.

Over the course of the project, three converters will be replaced in the smelter converter aisle.

“The delivery of this converter, which was fabricated here in Sudbury, marks significant progress in the advancement of the Clean AER Project,” Dave Marshall, director of the Clean AER Project, said in a release.

The wide-load delivery of the converter vessel to Vale’s smelter gate will take place from 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The converter will be delivered from Anmar, at 199 Mumford Road in Lively.

From Anmar, the route of the delivery is as follows:

n 199 Mumford Road to Municipal Road 55 East;

n Municipal Road 55 to Fielding Road;

n Fielding Road to Power Street (via Vale private property);

n Municipal Road 55 to Balsam Street and Vale’s Smelter Gate via Benjafield Road

The converter vessel weighs about 100 tonnes and is 14 metres long and 4.2 metres in diameter. It is the second of three converters that are being fabricated in Sudbury by Anmar for the Clean AER Project.

Due to the size of the load, Greater Sudbury Police officers will provide an escort for the delivery. As the width of the load will occupy two lanes, it is expected that traffic will be temporarily delayed during the delivery period.

“Vale wishes to inform the public that there may be short-term inconveniences to drivers along this route,” Marshall said. “The public is asked to consider alternative routes to get to their destinations during this period.”

The Clean AER Project, where AER stands for ‘Atmospheric Emissions Reduction’, is one of the largest single environmental investments in Ontario’s history. It will reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 85 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent from current levels. It will also reduce dust and metals emissions a further 35 to 4o per cent.

The project involves a complete retrofit of the converter aisle in the Copper Cliff Smelter. Sulphur dioxide that currently goes up the Superstack from the converters will be captured in a brand new wet gas cleaning plant, sent to the acid plant, converted to sulphuric acid and sold.