page_title: Fermont
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Fermont / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Truck 172 from Mont-Wright mine, on display in Fermont, QC, Canada. This truck had the world record for number of hours of service in 2006. Français&#160;: Camion 172 de la mine de Mont-Wright, en montre à Fermont, QC, Canada. Ce camion détient un record mondial pour le nombre d'heures de service en 2006.
context_page_description: Fermont is a town in northeastern Quebec, Canada, near the Quebec-Labrador border about 23 kilometres from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Caniapiscau.
  Fermont was founded as a company town in the early 1970s to exploit rich iron ore deposits from Mont Wright, which is about 25 kilometres to the west from the town site.
  The town is notable for the huge self-contained structure containing apartments, stores, schools, bars, a hotel, restaurants, a supermarket and swimming pool which shelters a community of smaller apartment buildings and homes on its leeward side. The structure was designed to be a windscreen to the rest of the town. It permits residents to never leave the building during the long winter, which usually lasts about seven months. The town, designed by Maurice Desnoyers and Norbert Schoenauer, was inspired by similar projects in Sweden designed by Ralph Erskine, notably that of Svappavaara, an iron mining town in Sweden. The building measures 1.3 kilometres long and stands 50 metres high.
context_section_description: The local economy is entirely dependent on the Mont Wright and Fire Lake mines owned by ArcelorMittal. Over 80% of municipal revenues come from mining operations.
  Average earnings for full-time workers was $63,982 in 2001, compared to $39,217 in Quebec as a whole. This went up to $70,102 in 2006, whereas the provincial average dropped to $37,722.
  The mine product is shipped to Port-Cartier on the Cartier Railway where it is converted to pellets. In 2006 the mine was affected by a labour dispute which lasted from early April to early June. It was amicably resolved with a six-year contract renewal.
  Because of the town's disproportionately high number of (relatively prosperous) men compared to women and the few entertainment options in Fermont's climate, the adult entertainment industry is extremely lucrative in Fermont, and strippers can make a substantial amount of money for their profession.
caption: Truck 172 from the Mont-Wright Mine, on display in Fermont
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