First grain in six years to move over the Hudson Bay railway on Friday

The first shipment of grain on the restored railroad will happen Friday, with the grain loaded on cars at The Pas and then continuing its 1,300 km journey to the port. Multiple export vessels will ship the grain across the globe over the summer.

While grain movement is welcomed by farmers, other industries will benefit as well.

Three weeks ago, AGG announced that mining companies in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba have made progress in their plans to transport critical minerals through the port.

Eldorado Gold, which recently acquired Foran Mining, will soon be shipping concentrate from the McIlvenna Bay copper/zinc/gold/silver 100 kilometres west of Creighton.

McIlvenna Bay has been under construction for months and is now gearing up for production. The first copper concentrate was produced last month with full commercial production expected later this year.

The initial life of the mine is 18 years and will produce 41 million pounds of copper, 20,000 ounces of gold, 444,000 ounces of silver and 54 million pounds of zinc per year.

The port is one of the initial projects announced by the federal Major Projects Office, an initiative created by Prime Minister Mark Carney following his election in spring 2025.

Product from McIlvenna Bay will load onto railcars in Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Potash is mined further south near Saskatoon but another major mine is in the works near Humboldt.

In Manitoba, AGG signed an MOU with Sio Silica to become a key tenant in the port. Initial plans are to invest between $110 and $124 million to build enclosed storage domes, rail unloading systems, conveyors, ship loading infrastructure, upgrade utilities and install a super-sack bagging facility.

Sio is partnered with RCT Solutions, a German company, that plans to have four ships per year move through the port once operations begin. The company has an application for a silica mine in southern Manitoba that was rejected in 2024, but revived in late 2025.

The governments of Manitoba and Canada plan to upgrade the port, build a new all-weather road, build a new energy corridor, and increase the marine ice-breaking capacity in the Hudson Bay. Increased ice breaking would allow for year-round shipping, instead of the current system where movement is shut down by ice for months every year.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe signed a memorandum of understanding with Manitoba last year to advance trade, transportation and economic development through the corridor.

Arctic Gateway Group is an Indigenous and northern community-owned company that owns and operates the Hudson Bay Railway, the Port of Churchill and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm. Through its parent company, OneNorth, AGG is owned by a partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 northern communities across Manitoba.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

First grain in six years to move over the Hudson Bay railway on Friday

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