Greenland wants its say in huge Canadian Arctic mining project – by Marc Montgomery (Radio Canada International – April 22, 2020)

https://www.rcinet.ca/en/

High up in the Canadian Arctic a giant open pit mine is extracting millions of tonnes of iron ore which is then shipped to destinations in Europe and Asia.

The Baffinland company’s Mary River site on Baffin Island, originally began extracting 4.2 million tonnes in 2015, increased to 6mt by 2018. Phase 2 of the project seeks to double that to 12mt. with some reports saying they plan to seek approval for 18mt.

In 2018 there were 71 giant cargo ship voyages to and from the site and Phase 2 seeks to increase that to 176 trips from July to mid-November.

Inuit in the area say they are seeing changes in wildlife movement, and concern about ship noise effects on marine life. They say red dust from the mine is coating the region, including for example reports of seeing pink dusted Arctic fox. The plan is being discussed by the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB).

Now Greenland says it wants to participate as aspects of the mine will affect marine life along its coast. Greenland’s claim for participation comes under a 1991 international treaty known as the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context. It sent a note expressing its concerns to federal officials

For the rest of this article: https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/04/22/greenland-wants-its-say-in-huge-canadian-arctic-mining-project/