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Canada Mining – North of 60

Northern leaders to build Arctic that lasts – by A. J. Roan (North of 60 Mining News – April 25, 2024)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai discuss the roles they can play to uplift northern neighbor jurisdictions.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: With an air of joviality and high rapport, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai participated in a plenary discussion hosted during the 2024 Arctic Encounter Symposium to converse on the potential for closer partnerships and improving the cross-border relationship that has existed between northern neighbors Alaska and Yukon for decades.

Held at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage, the 2024 Arctic Encounter Symposium celebrated not only the rich and diverse cultures throughout the northern hemisphere but also its 10th anniversary as the largest Arctic-focused conference in the United States.

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Baffinland hopes railroad to Steensby is built in next few years – by Jeff Pelletier Nunatsiaq News – April 24, 2024)

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Application to temporarily continue increased iron ore shipments from Milne Inlet submitted to Nunavut Impact Review Board

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. is applying to continue exporting six million tonnes of iron ore from Mary River Mine through Milne Inlet, its northern marine shipping corridor, until 2030 or its railroad to Steensby Inlet is built.

Megan Lord-Hoyle, the company’s vice-president of sustainable development, shared the news Wednesday during a presentation at the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit. The company previously applied to ship 12 million tonnes of ore through Milne Inlet, but the federal government shot that plan down in 2022.

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Inuit leaders talk impact of mining at Iqaluit gathering – by David Lochead (Nunatsiaq News – April 2024)

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Nunavut Mining Symposium runs until Thursday; trade show open to the public on final day

Leaders from the three regional Inuit organizations in Nunavut came together Tuesday to discuss mining and its impact on the territory. The session was part of the annual Nunavut Mining Symposium, which opened April 22 and runs until April 25 at the Aqsarniit hotel in Iqaluit.

The panel, moderated by former Nunavut senator Dennis Patterson, included Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. vice-president Paul Irngaut, Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk and Kivalliq Inuit Association chief operating officer Gabe Karlik.

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Is this the right vision for the NWT’s economy? – by Ollie Williams (Cabin Radio – April 13, 2024)

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It’s been a big week for discussion of the Northwest Territories’ economy. It might be about 15 years overdue.

Economist Graeme Clinton, who lives in Yellowknife, started the week by telling city council an “economic cliff” is coming – and there seems to be no plan.

He was referring to the closure of the NWT’s three active diamond mines, which currently power thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. The first of the three to close will do so in just over 18 months’ time. Financially, diamond mining is the most important industry the territory has. There’s nothing on the radar that comes close to matching it for job creation and profit.

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Canada’s top soldier touts renewed Arctic strategy amid China and Russia’s push to deepen ties – by Robert Fife and Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – April 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A sharper focus on the Arctic in Ottawa’s defence policy is a strategic move welcomed by Western allies, Canada’s top soldier says, as Russia and China contest this increasingly pivotal region, where global warming is opening the Northern Sea Route to shipping and military manoeuvres.

General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff, acknowledged that the $8.1-billion over all committed by the government to defence spending over the next five years falls short of the NATO spending target of 2 per cent of annual economic output. Still, he says the new money will help a military long neglected by governments of various political stripes.

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Should alarm bells be louder for the NWT’s post-diamonds future? – by Ollie Williams (Cabin Radio – April 8, 2024)

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“The idea is not to be alarmist, but we also have to face some facts.” The Northwest Territories is about to start losing the diamond mines that drive a huge chunk of its employment and revenue. Yellowknife economist Graeme Clinton doesn’t think the territory and its residents necessarily understand that yet.

“I’m not sure if people get it,” he told Cabin Radio. In an attempt to change that, he has produced a paper – backed by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, the mining industry body for the North – and will present some findings to Yellowknife City Council on Monday.

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Canada’s mild winter disrupts key ice road to remote Arctic diamond mines – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – March 30, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO, March 30 (Reuters) – An unusually warm winter in Canada this year has delayed the opening of a 400-kilometer (250-mile) ice road that is rebuilt every year as the main conduit for Rio Tinto, Burgundy Mines, and De Beers to access their diamond mines in the remote Arctic region.

The Winter Road, which serves the region accessible only by air for 10 months of the year, opened with a two-week delay in the middle of February, disrupting movement of goods along the ice road built over 64 frozen lakes.

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Closing Canada’s back door: Strategies to control our Arctic critical minerals – by Stephen Van Dine (MacDonald Laurier Institute – February 28, 2024)

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Stephen Van Dine writes that Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy not only fails to secure investment but also leaves Canada’s Arctic exposed to security risks.

Chinese balloons, ocean buoys, and ships of all shapes and sizes are navigating through our Arctic waters and over our lands. In response, the coast guards and militaries from both Canada and the United States are increasing their detection and response capability against China’s probes into North America. That response includes scrambling fighter jets to shoot down suspected Chinese spy balloons as was done in February 2023 over Yukon.

Today, there is another kind of Chinese incursion in the Canadian Arctic. This incursion is much less visible than balloons or buoys, and is something that the conventional military is ill-equipped to confront: the acquisition of junior mining companies.

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First Nation warns of ‘ecocide’ as spring melt poses risk to tailings pond at Yukon mine site – by Julien Gignac (CBC News North – February 16, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Calling it an impending crisis, the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation says problems have been in plain sight

The Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation is warning spring melt could cause the tailings dam at the abandoned Mount Nansen mine in central Yukon to overflow or breach, and send a toxic slurry into the environment. The company managing the site, however, says a dam breach is unlikely — though it could be at risk of overflowing.

Little Salmon Carmacks Chief Nicole Tom calls it an emergency, and compared it to the 2014 Mount Polley mine disaster in B.C. that saw roughly 25 million cubic metres of water and tailings effluent flow into surrounding waterways. It was the largest tailings spill in Canadian history.

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New mine at N.W.T.’s Pine Point still 6 years away, company says – by Carla Ulrich (CBC News North – February 9, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

It’s been almost 4 decades since the former mine at Pine Point was abandoned

There could be a new Pine Point mine operating in the N.W.T. in about six years, according to the company behind the project — and many South Slave residents are looking forward to it. There hasn’t been an operational lead and zinc mine at Pine Point in almost four decades when the former mine and neighbouring community closed down and were abandoned.

The site, located between Hay River and Fort Resolution., N.W.T., is currently in the development phase. Last winter, Osisko Metals completed a five-year drilling program on site to determine the mineral resources.

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City of Whitehorse mulls mineral mining ban within municipal limits – by Katie Todd (CBC News North – February 6, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Council to debate 2 options next week: prohibit altogether, or require public input

The City of Whitehorse is considering a ban on mineral mining within city limits. The city is looking at proposed changes to its zoning bylaw, as well as the official community plan (OCP), to protect groundwater and reduce disturbance for residents.

One option is rewording both pieces of policy to prohibit mineral exploration and extraction within the entire city. Under current legislation, companies can’t stake new mining claims across most of Whitehorse. But the city’s planning services manager, Peter Duke, said there’s 72 historic claims, kept in good standing, that the city could issue a permit for.

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White Cliff receives licence approval for Nunavut project – by Jane Bentham (Global Mining Review – January 30, 2024)

https://www.globalminingreview.com/

White Cliff Minerals Limited has announced that it has received a positive conformity determination for its licences from the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) for the high-grade Coppermine project.

This critical regulatory approval marks a major step in the permitting process and allows the company to now appoint contractors for 2024 exploration initiatives and complete the logistical planning phase. This approval also ensures that any proposed activities align with regulatory expectations and underscores White Cliffs’ demonstrable commitment to responsible resource development with local, territorial, and federal stakeholders.

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Ukraine’s victory is a bulwark for Canada and NATO against future Russian aggression – by Marcus Kolga (Toronto Star – January 31, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Canada’s economy is larger than Russia’s and combined with our G7 allies, we have the resources to stand up to Putin’s petulant transnational bullying.

As we approach the third year of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the stakes for the security of Canada and our allies has never been higher. Ukraine’s victory is not just a moral imperative: it will prevent Vladimir Putin from expanding his current conflict beyond Ukraine.

In recent weeks, high-ranking allied military officials have sounded alarms about a looming military confrontation with Russia.

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The fatal plane crash in the Northwest Territories this week was rare – but the journey to remote mines is always perilous – by Mike Hager, Niall McGee and Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – January 27, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

After a few months or years of working rotating shifts at the Diavik Diamond Mine, flying to the site can become routine.

Employees file into a twin-propeller plane, exchange small talk with the crew and then tend to put their earbuds in and try to catch some shut-eye before their shifts, says Sean Farmer, a pilot who until recently worked with Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. Mr. Farmer flew all over the North, including twice-monthly flights between Fort Smith, NWT, and the Diavik mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

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FIRST READING: Canada signs over an area the size of Western Europe to Inuit control – Tristin Hopper (National Post – January 25, 2024)

https://nationalpost.com/

In ‘largest land transfer in Canadian history,’ Nunavut to now control oil, gas and mineral rights across two million square kilometres

Ottawa has just inked an agreement that constitutes the biggest land transfer in Canadian history — while ranking as one of the largest-ever examples of a government effectively returning territory to Indigenous control.

The Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement has gone mostly unnoticed outside the Arctic. But the 239-page agreement — signed last week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — takes roughly two million square kilometres of Crown land previously under federal control and transfers it to the Government of Nunavut.

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