Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km (1¼ miles) from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake.

It is located within the Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality and has an area of 24.76 square kilometres (9.56 sq mi).

The isolated town is not connected to the provincial road network but is accessible by airplane via the Schefferville Airport or by train.

Schefferville is the northern terminus of Tshiuetin Rail Transportation (formerly operated by the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway) with service to Sept-Îles.

The name Schefferville was adopted in honour of (Roman Catholic) Bishop Lionel Scheffer, who served as the Apostolic Vicar of Labrador from 14 March 1946, until his death on 3 October 1966.

[1] At the time of the town's founding, Innu from Maliotenam and Naskapi from Fort Chimo were resettled to Schefferville to assist with geological exploration work and the railway construction.

As a result, even the vast landmass seldom builds up heat and remains extremely chilly for the latitude.

The breakdown of mother tongues is (2021):[3] As a result of increased demand for steel and iron ore, two official projects are underway in the early 21st century to re-establish mining operations out of Schefferville.

In addition, Anglesey Mining had applied for final operational permits on its former Iron Ore Company of Canada deposits.

Production was scheduled to start during late summer 2010, with output rising to two or three million tons of ore a year by 2012 before further deposits are developed.

They delayed the start of mining with demands for increased compensation for the commercial exploitation of their traditional homelands.