Canada Mining – North of 60 – Page 14

Deadline for Mary River Phase Two expansion extended; lingering environmental concerns remain – by Trevor Wright (Nunavut News – February 14, 2022)

February 15, 2022

https://www.nunavutnews.com/

On Jan. 31, Baffinland Iron Mines filed its closing statement to the Nunavut Impact Review Board in support of its proposed phase two expansion of the Mary River Mine.

The proposed timeline for the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) to reach its decision and forward findings to the federal minister of Northern Affairs was 45 days from Baffinland’s closing statement being submitted. However, due to the “overwhelming’”quantity of information to digest, the regulatory body concluded an additional 60 days is required.

Ottawa on the hook for $4-billion tied to abandoned mines’ cleanup in the North – by Kevin Philipupillai (Hill Times – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.hilltimes.com/

NDP MP Lori Idlout says the Liberals need to hold companies accountable. ‘Our communities can’t continue to be disregarded when the profit is gone and we’re left to clean up the mess that a multi-billion dollar company made.’

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is responsible for $4-billion in environmental liabilities for mines abandoned by private operators in the territories, according to the federal government’s public accounts for 2020-21. This figure represents the amount required to bring 162 contaminated sites back up to current minimum environmental standards. But in extreme cases the remediation costs may extend into perpetuity.

North: N.W.T. gold mining project encouraged by Tłı̨chǫ Highway opening – by Herb Mathisen (CBC News North – December 30, 2021)

January 11, 2022

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

CEO of Nighthawk Gold project near Wekweètì, N.W.T. calls Tłı̨chǫ Highway a “smart investment”

When the Tłı̨chǫ Highway officially opened on Nov. 30, Fortune Minerals wasn’t the only mining company applauding the new road. Nighthawk Gold is currently advancing its Colomac Gold project, roughly 120 kilometres northeast of Whatì.

The new all-season highway, also called N.W.T. Highway 9, goes about halfway to Colomac. From a turnoff near the community of Whatì, a winter road goes the rest of the way. The seasonal road passes through Nighthawk’s 930-square-kilometre exploration property, before ending in Wekweètì.

RIO TINTO NEWS RELEASE: First female president appointed for Diavik Diamond Mine (December 16, 2021)

December 17, 2021

YELLOWKNIFE, Canada – Rio Tinto has appointed Angela Bigg president and chief operating officer of the Diavik Diamond Mine. Angela, previously general manager, Operations at Diavik, will be the first female to lead the mine and its 1,100 employees.

Angela joined the Diavik team in November of 2017 as vice president, Finance. She began her career with Rio Tinto in 2005 and has worked in Mozambique, South Africa and Australia, where she is from. She succeeds Richard Storrie, who has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.

‘The opportunities are endless’: Tłı̨chǫ Highway opens, marking a new chapter for Whatì, N.W.T. – by John Van Dusen (CBC News North – November 30, 2021)

December 1, 2021

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

A fly-in community for most of the year now has all-season road access

The Chief of Whatì, N.W.T., will soon do something he’s never been able to do until today — get in a car and drive to Yellowknife on a road that’s open year-round. “As soon as they remove that barricade, I’ll be on the Whatì highway,” said Alfonz Nitsiza.

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, that barricade came down, and the largely fly-in community located about 164 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife is a fly-in community no more. A 97-kilometre, two-lane gravel all-season highway is officially open to the public.

Creation of ‘New Agnico Eagle’ gets shareholder nod – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 29, 2021)

November 29, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Agnico Eagle-Kirkland Lake Gold deal to be finalized in early 2022

Shareholders for Agnico Eagle and Kirkland Lake Gold have voted in favour of establishing a Canadian gold mining powerhouse.

Labelled as a “merger of equals,” both companies announced that its respective shareholders approved the combination at special meetings held Nov. 26. The two companies announced the $13.4-billion transaction back on Sept. 28.

Veteran Northern geologist Gary Vivian has survived planes going down, aggressive bears and hordes of mosquitoes – by Derek Neary (Nunavut News – November 25, 2021)

November 26, 2021

https://www.nunavutnews.com/

Geology has landed Gary Vivian in some extremely remote Northern locations, and a few of those landings had his heart in his throat.

With a career that has spanned more than 40 years, he’s climbed aboard planes and helicopters thousands of times, bound for destinations that many Northerners have never seen. One trip made him fear for his life when the Beaver he was flying in lost engine power due to a frozen fuel line while outside of Rankin Inlet.

N.W.T. mining projects eye roads to get them up and running (CBC News North – November 26, 2021)

November 26, 2021

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

Two mining projects in the Northwest Territories looking to cash in on the growing demand for batteries that are key in the battle against climate change are inching forward.

Robin Goad, the president and CEO of Fortune Minerals, the company that owns the NICO project, a cobalt, bismuth, gold and copper deposit about 50 kilometres northeast of Whatì, provided an update on the project during a virtual appearance at a geoscience conference held in Yellowknife Thursday.

Rio Tinto now sole owner of Diavik Mine – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 19, 2021)

November 25, 2021

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

In a deal that bolsters certainty for the future of the Diavik Mine and Northwest Territories’ economy, Rio Tinto has acquired full ownership of this iconic diamond operation in Canada’s Arctic.

Rio Tinto’s 40% partner in Diavik, Dominion Diamond Mines, filed for insolvency protection under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Building skills and shovelling money: life as a Northern Indigenous miner in the ’80s and ‘90s – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – November 24, 2021)

November 25, 2021

https://www.nnsl.com/

Ted Tsetta spent close to 30 years working at various Northern mines. He was employed by Subarctic Welding when he heard from a recruiter at the Polaris zinc mine on Little Cornwallis Island, approximately 100 kilometres north of Resolute Bay, in what is now Nunavut (it was still the Northwest Territories at the time).

“I got a call and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll go,’ I’m not going to hesitate in the mining industry,” Tsetta says. “I took that chance right off the bat.” He remembers his first day of work as a labourer at Polaris was Oct. 5, 1981. He was 19 and pulling in more than $3,000 every two weeks.

New road paves the way for Canada’s first primary cobalt mine – by Staff (Mining.com – November 7, 2021)

November 8, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Fortune Minerals (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF), the company behind what could become Canada’s first primary cobalt mine, said this week that its NICO project will greatly benefit from the about-to-be-open Tlicho all-season road, linking the community of Whati to the national highway system.

The Tlicho Highway is a 97-kilometre, two-lane gravel all-season road to Whati constructed by North Star Infrastructure under a 28-year, $400-million design-build-operate-maintain contract with the Government of the Northwest Territories. The capital costs include up to $53 million in federal government contributions through the Canada Infrastructure Fund.

Hearings on Baffinland expansion in Nunavut close with criticism from Pond Inlet – by Jane George (CBC News Canada North – November 6, 2021)

November 8, 2021

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

After three years, four hearings, two cancellations and other restrictions imposed by COVID-19, the fate of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation’s proposed Mary River expansion project is now in hands of the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB).

The most affected Nunavut community does not embrace the mining company’s plans for growth. “We don’t want to sacrifice our culture and tradition for jobs and benefits,” said Enookie Inuarak, of Pond Inlet’s hunters and trappers organization, on the final day of the NIRB hearing in Iqaluit.

Agnico investing $33M in exploring Nunavut – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 5, 2021)

November 5, 2021

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

Looking to strengthen the gold mine platform it is building in Nunavut, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. is investing roughly US$33 million into exploring its three main assets in the Canadian territory – Meliadine mine, Meadowbank Complex, and the recently acquired Hope Bay mine.

This robust investment in Nunavut is part of US$163 million of exploration the company has budgeted for all of its assets, which is substantially higher than the US$113 million invested in exploration during 2020 and a record for the company.

Pond Inlet woman’s barrage of criticism shakes up Baffinland hearings – by Jane George (CBC News Canada North – November 4, 2021)

November 5, 2021

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

A Pond Inlet, Nunavut, woman managed to lambaste the Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. on several fronts Wednesday, despite being about 1,000 kilometres north of the Nunavut Impact Review Board hearing underway in Iqaluit.

Anita Uuttuvak sat alone in a chair in front of a microphone, while speaking by videoconference in her home community. She looked straight into the camera, and spoke in Inuktitut and English about the mining company and its proposed expansion of the Mary River iron mine, now in its final assessment by regulators.

Baffinland works to woo support for its iron mine expansion in 1st day of community roundtables – by Jane George CBC News Canada North – November 3, 2021)

November 4, 2021

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

Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation hopes to smooth the way forward for its expanded Mary River iron mine proposal during this week’s Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) hearings in Iqaluit. But concerns over wildlife and the mine’s overall impact surfaced during the first day of community roundtable sessions held in Iqaluit, and remotely from Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

These contrasted with the mining company’s promises of increased environmental controls, more involvement for Inuit and attention to traditional knowledge, community improvements — and new cash for the community.