History
The dam and power plant have their origin on 26 January 1957 when the Québec Cartier Mining Company was created by U.S. Steel to supply iron ore concentrate. On 21 February 1957 the Queen, with the advice and consent to the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, authorized leasing the water powers of the Hart-Jaune River and the Petit Lac Manicouagan, including the right to regulate the flow of the river and to store water in the lake. The new company spent $325 million to build the Lake Jeannine mining site, with the nearby town of Gagnon and Hart-Jaune power station, as well as the Cartier Railway leading to a port at Port-Cartier from which the first load of iron ore concentrate was shipped in June 1961.
The company made further investments in the 1970s at Mont-Wright, Fermont and Fire Lake, but during a steel market crisis in 1979−1985 was forced to shut down Lac-Jeannine, Gagnon and Fire Lake. [lower-alpha 1] Hart Jaune was listed among Hydro Quebec's generating stations in 1987.
In September 1998, following an environmental impact review, Hydro Quebec was given permission to undertake a back-filling project over a distance of 2,385 metres (7,825 ft) in Petit lac Manicouagan and the Hart Jaune river to rehabilitate the riprap protection of part of the upstream facing of the retaining structures for the Hart-Jaune complex. In 2012 Hydro Quebec commissioned a digital microwave link between Hart-Jaune and Manic-5. In July 2013 Hydro Quebec evacuated its personnel from the power station as a precautionary measure due to a major forest fire in the area.
The Cartier Railway is a privately owned railway that operates 260 miles (418 km) of track in the Canadian province of Québec.
The Manicouagan or Manicuagan River, often clipped to Manic, is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Comeau. The reservoir, also known as Lake Manicouagan, lies within the remnant of an ancient eroded impact crater (astrobleme). It was formed following the impact of a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) diameter asteroid which excavated a crater originally about 100 km (62 mi) wide, although erosion and deposition of sediments have since reduced the visible diameter to about 72 km (45 mi). The Manicouagan impact structure is the sixth-largest confirmed impact crater known on earth.
Québec Cartier Mining Company was one of the leading producers of iron ore products in North America, now part of ArcelorMittal.
The Daniel-Johnson dam, formerly known as Manic-5, is a multiple-arch buttress dam on the Manicouagan River that creates the annular Manicouagan Reservoir. The dam is composed of 14 buttresses and 13 arches and is 214 km (133 mi) north of Baie-Comeau in Quebec, Canada. The dam was constructed between 1959 and 1970 for the purpose of hydroelectric power production and supplies water to the Manic-5 and Manic-5-PA power houses with a combined capacity of 2,660 MW. The dam is 214 m (702 ft) tall, 1,314 m (4,311 ft) long and contains 2,200,000 m3 (2,900,000 cu yd) of concrete, making it the largest dam of its type in the world.
Rivière-Mouchalagane is an unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, part of Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality.
Lake Arthur is a lake in Quebec, in Port-Cartier–Sept-Îles Wildlife Reserve in the Côte-Nord region.
Lake Quatre Lieues is a lake in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is set in a wilderness area and may be used for relaxation, fishing or hunting.
The Toulnustouc River is a tributary of the Manicouagan River in Rivière-aux-Outardes, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. It is dammed to form Lake Sainte-Anne, which regulates water supply to the huge hydroelectric plants near the mouth of the Manicouagan and also feeds the Toulnustouc generating station with a capacity of 526 MW, which has been operational since 2005.
The Northeast Toulnustouc River is a tributary of the Toulnustouc River in Lac-Walker, Sept-Rivières, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. The Cartier Railway runs beside it for most of its length.
The Toulnustouc generating station, is a hydroelectric power generating station managed by Hydro-Québec on the Toulnustouc River in the territory of Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. It has an installed capacity of 526 MW. The power station is fed by water from a dam and dyke that contain the Lake-Sainte-Anne reservoir.
Lake Sainte-Anne is a lake and reservoir on the Toulnustouc River in the territory of Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. The original dam was built in 1950 to regulate the river flow as part of the Manicouagan River hydroelectric power complex. A new dam was completed in 2005 that enlarged the reservoir and supported the new Toulnustouc generating station.
The Pentecôte River is a river in the Côte-Nord region or the province of Quebec, Canada. It is a tributary of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, which it enters beside the community of Rivière-Pentecôte.
The Riverin River is a river in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is a tributary of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. There is a small hydroelectric power plant near the mouth of the river.
The Sainte-Marguerite River is a 316 kilometres (196 mi) long river in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It flows into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the west of Sept-Îles. There are traces of human activity along the river from 4,000 years ago. Pulp and paper exploitation in the river basin began in the early 20th century, followed by mining. The river has a large hydroelectric power dam, the Denis-Perron dam, that contains a reservoir that is 140 kilometres (87 mi) long.
Lake Cacaoui is a lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It drains into the Sainte-Marguerite River.
The Hart Jaune River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the Petit lac Manicouagan to the Manicouagan Reservoir.
The Petit lac Manicouagan is a lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is impounded by the Hart-Jaune Dam at its outlet to the Hart Jaune River.
Lake Jeannine is a small lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It was the site of a major iron ore mining operation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Fire Lake is a lake in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It was the location of a major open pit mining operation in the 1970s and 1980s. Operations were then suspended for twenty years, but ArcelorMittal resumed extraction in 2006.
Abbé Huard River is a river in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is a tributary of the Romaine River. The lower part of the river, where it meandered through sand and gravel deposits, has been flooded by the Romaine-2 reservoir.
