Champion Iron Ltd. subsidiary Quebec Iron Ore Inc. restarted operations at the Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec on Feb. 16, ahead of schedule and within budget.

The company announced in November 2017 that it planned to restart the mine in March with a budget of over C$160 million.

According to the Feb. 22 release, the first train is being loaded with 16,500 tonnes of high-grade iron ore concentrate for export.

"Significantly, the first train confirms we have been able to produce a high-grade iron concentrate of exceptional quality, as outlined in the mine's Feasibility Study," Executive Chairman and CEO Michael O'Keeffe said. "Furthermore, not only are we on schedule and within budget, but with current iron ore prices of US$78 pmt for 62% Fe being substantially higher than the estimates of US$56 pmt used in our planning, we are already ahead of forecast."