Aug. 20 marks the 56th anniversary of the tornado that passed through Sudbury in 1970, as the Superstack was under construction at the former Inco Ltd. in Copper Cliff. The stack is currently being demolished at the site, now owned by Vale Ltd. “The Superstack … swayed during the storm but was not damaged, demonstrating its durability,” Vale said on its Facebook page dedicated to giving updates on the decommissioning of the structure. The post included an excerpt from the Inco Triangle on the impact of the tornado. “There were 25 men aloft on the stack top when the Aug. 20 storm struck during the morning shift change,” The Triangle reported in September 1970. “Undaunted by their hair-raising experience, all men either remained on the job or returned on their next shift as scheduled. Due to good general safety practices, including lashing down all loose equipment and material, no injuries or losses occurred.” Power went out for six hours on the day of the Tornado, the final day of concrete placement for the stack’s exterior shell. Construction of the concrete shell was completed by the evening of Aug. 21, 1970. “Today, the Superstack stands at 936 feet (285 metres),” Vale reported. “Since our last update on July 24, it has been lowered by 100 feet (30.5 metres). In total, the structure has been reduced by 310 feet (94.5 metres) since dismantling began.” See the full post at Vale’s social media page.
