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Canada Mining – North of 60

Nunavut communities weigh in on Baffinland production increase – by Paul Tukker (CBC News North – August 3, 2022)

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

Arctic Bay, Pond Inlet register support for temporary increase again this year at mine

Baffinland Iron Mines’ request to boost its production again this year at its Mary River mine is getting mixed reaction from some Nunavut communities.

The request — which, if approved, would allow the company to mine up to six million tonnes of ore from its Mary River mine in 2022 — is now before the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB). And behind the request is a threat, with Baffinland saying more than 1,000 people will be laid off starting next month if it’s not approved.

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Over a thousand workers face layoffs in Nunavut as Baffinland permit in limbo – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 3, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Waiting on ruling from federal government about extraction limits

More than 1,000 workers at Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. received termination notices and might be out of work by October if the Nunavut-based miner’s extraction permit isn’t renewed by the Federal government, the company said on Wednesday.

The workers received their notices on July 31, company spokesman Peter Akman said. He added that the notices would be rescinded if Baffinland receives the permit to increase its annual extraction limit of iron ore to six million tonnes from its original allowance of 4.2 million tonnes.

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Baffinland issues layoff notices to more than 1,100 employees – by David Venn(Nunatsiaq News – August 2, 2022)

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Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has sent layoff notices to more than 1,100 of its employees. The company sent the notices July 31, said spokesperson Peter Akman. The first round of layoffs is scheduled to happen Sept. 25, and the second on Oct. 11.

“The company has had to take this step out of an abundance of caution,” Akman wrote in an email to Nunatsiaq News. Baffinland operates an iron mine on north Baffin Island, where it employs about 350 Inuit.

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Federal minister delays Baffinland decision by another 90 days (CBC News North – July 12, 2022)

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

Dan Vandal wants to ensure Inuit have ‘adequate time’ to mull NIRB report

The minister of Northern Affairs needs more time to make a major decision on the future of iron mining on Baffin Island. In a letter Monday to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, Dan Vandal says he’ll need an extra 90 days to decide whether a major expansion of Baffinland Iron Mines should go ahead.

On May 13, after four years of intensive review, the board recommended the proposed expansion not be allowed to proceed. Normal procedures give the federal minister 90 days to accept, vary or reject the board’s recommendation. That would have meant a decision by mid-August.

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Uranium exploration plan in Thelon Basin draws some concerns – by David Lochead (Nunatsiaq News – July 7, 2022)

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Some Baker Lake residents and organizations are expressing concerns over planned uranium exploration in the Thelon Basin next year. The majority of comments submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board that were made public by the board have expressed concern or questions, with others writing in opposition.

The review board makes recommendations to the federal minister of northern affairs about the economic and social impacts of proposed development projects in the territory. NIRB opened up the commenting period to the public June 14; commenting closed July 5.

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After 125 years Yukon’s gold rush gets bigger and bigger – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – June 30, 2022)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – People have been pulling gold out of Canada’s Yukon Territory for 125 years. Yet, mining executives say that the jurisdiction’s full potential remains untapped as companies continue expanding their precious metal resources and finding new significant green-field discoveries.

“The beauty of the Yukon is that even with its long history, it is still very much underexplored,” said Heather Burrell, President and Managing Director at Archer Cathro, an independent geological consulting firm. The company has been a prominent explorer in the Yukon for the last five decades and has made significant discoveries, including the Coffee project, which was initially bought by Goldcorp and is now owned by Newmont.

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Sabina moves closer to kick-starting western Nunavut gold mine – by Jane George (CBC News North – June 22, 2022)

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

Goose mine could be open by 2025 in territory’s Kitikmeot region

By 2025, Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region could see a new gold mine enter into production, Sabina Gold and Silver Corp.’s Goose gold mine. The company has been working toward opening a mine in its Back River project for at least a decade.

Sabina plans to make the decision soon about advancing its project to production, said company vice-president Nicole Hoeller. “We wanted to have our financing in place before,” Hoeller said.

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Canadian explorer continues to advance project’s copper-nickel-cobalt plus PGM, clean energy potential (Mining Weekly – June 20, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

With significant demand and potential in Canada for high-grade palladium, platinum, rhodium, copper, nickel and cobalt, Canadian North Resources Inc. (CNRI) is at late-stage exploration and development of its mining property in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, in Canada, namely the Ferguson Lake project.

The company, which owns 100% of the project, has a mandate to create shareholder value from the advancement of its Ferguson Lake project, which holds substantial resources of copper (0.46-billion indicated and 0.95-billion inferred pounds), nickel (0.32-billion indicated and 0.55-billion inferred pounds) and cobalt (37-million indicated and 62-million inferred pounds) plus palladium (1.08-million indicated and 2.12-million ounces) and platinum (0.18-million indicated and 0.38-million inferred ounces).

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PDAC 2022: NWT leaders ask Ottawa to help with infrastructure to benefit mining – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – June 15, 2022)

https://www.northernminer.com/

In the Northwest Territories, infrastructure that lags behind southern Canada is limiting the potential of the territory’s mining development and increasing its costs as well, said leaders of the N.W.T. government at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto on June 14.

Premier Caroline Cochrane and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Caroline Wawzonek told The Northern Miner in an interview that they want the federal government to step up and provide more support for the territory’s infrastructure needs.

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City of Yellowknife signs MOU with Chamber of Mines to promote economic development – by Ethan Butterfield (NNSL Media – June 15, 2022)

https://www.nnsl.com/

A newly-signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Yellowknife and the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines promises to be a significant milestone for the mining industry in Yellowknife and the territory.

“Working together in partnership with the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines to proactively promote the economy of the city and the region will ensure economic growth into the future,” said Rebecca Alty, Yellowknife’s mayor. The MOU was signed during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada 2022 Convention, which took place in Toronto from June 13 to 15.

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Baffinland starts process to lay off up to 1,328 employees in Nunavut (CBC News North – June 6, 2022)

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

Letter to Nunavut government gives notice of mass terminations starting Aug. 31

Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation intends to lay off up to 1,328 employees – including 209 Inuit – later this year, according to a notice the company served to the Nunavut government. The letter, dated June 3, says the mass terminations are expected between Aug. 31 and Oct. 31.

However, Joseph Tigullaraq, the head of northern affairs at Baffinland, said Monday afternoon that the company is still working to get approval from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) to continue shipping six million tonnes of ore from its Mary River mine this year to prevent the layoffs.

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Northern Affairs ministry says it can’t approve Baffinland’s emergency request (CBC News North – May 31, 2022)

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

The mining company threatened last week to lay off over 1,300 employees if its emergency order is not approved

The office of the minister of Northern Affairs says it has no authority to grant Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation’s request for an emergency order to allow the company to continue to mine six million tonnes of ore this year from its Mary River mine in Nunavut. The current cap is 4.2 million tonnes.

It comes after Baffin land sent the request for the order to Minister Dan Vandal’s office on May 20. On Monday, Kyle Allen, a spokesperson for the ministry, said in an email to CBC News that while it is reviewing the company’s request, granting the order is not within its jurisdiction.

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QIA calling for Baffinland to mitigate damage from existing iron ore mine in Nunavut, as it awaits Federal decision on expansion proposal – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 20, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, or QIA, is calling on Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. to make immediate improvements to mitigate environmental damage from its iron ore operations in Nunavut, as stakeholders wait for Ottawa’s decision on whether a planned expansion of the mine is allowed to go ahead.

Earlier this month, the Nunavut Impact Review Board, or NIRB, issued a long-awaited report that recommended against the expansion, saying it has the potential to result in “significant adverse ecosystemic effects on marine mammals and fish, caribou and other terrestrial wildlife.”

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Nunavut hunters urge Baffinland mine to stop icebreaking, citing narwhal decline (CBC News North – May 11, 2022)

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

Nunavut hunters and environmental groups say shipping activity from Baffinland’s Mary River mine is having a real and potentially lasting effect on narwhal numbers in the area.They’re calling on the mining company to, again, alter its shipping plans this year as a precaution.

In a letter to Nunavut regulators last week, the Pond Inlet-based Mittimatalik Hunters & Trappers Organization (HTO) says the abundance of narwhal summering in Eclipse Sound has been in steady decline in recent years and that Baffinland is responsible.

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Some in Nunavut community question where money from mining company has gone – by Emma Tranter (CBC News North – April 29, 2022)

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

Baffinland offering no details on how it spent $42.9 million in Sanirajak, pop. 850

A company that runs the largest mining operation in Nunavut says it has given tens of millions of dollars in contracts to Inuit firms in the hamlet of Sanirajak, but some residents say they don’t know where that money has gone.

An Oct. 18, 2021, memo from Baffinland Iron Mines, which runs the Mary River iron ore mine near Pond Inlet, summarizes community engagement with its neighbours. A section of the memo highlights direct benefits to Sanirajak, a community of about 850 people, including $42.9 million awarded to Inuit firms there since 2018.

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