[1][2] A large nickel deposit was discovered in the hills along the western shore of Potato Island in September 1993 by Archean Inc.,[3] a prospecting firm hired by Diamond Fields Resources Directors Jean-Raymond Boulle and Robert Friedland.

[citation needed] On 11 June 2018, Premier Dwight Ball announced Vale is moving forward with its underground mine at Voisey's Bay.

[16] In 2016, Vale Newfoundland and Labrador pleaded guilty to allowing an undisclosed amount of toxic, untreated water to flow into a nearby cove in 2013.

A core issue in the dispute was pay equity with workers at Vale Inco's facilities in Greater Sudbury, Port Colborne and Thompson.

[18] The question of where Voisey's Bay ore would be processed had previously been one of the obstacles to developing the site, with the government of Newfoundland and Labrador demanding that a facility be built in the province to provide jobs there,[19][20] while Inco workers in Sudbury and Thompson were simultaneously threatening to strike if the ore was not sent to their existing facilities in order to preserve and protect their jobs.