Iron Ore – Page 4 – Republic of Mining

Foot-dragging on Baffinland mine approval emblematic of a government that doesn’t take Northern workers seriously – by Peter MacKay (National Post – October 4, 2022)

October 4, 2022

The fact that over 1,000 families could have had their main source of income taken away is bad enough, but what makes it worse is that it didn’t seem to even register in Ottawa or the rest of Canada

Nunavut’s biggest contributor to its overall gross domestic product just narrowly missed terminating more than 1,100 of its employees due to one thing: a lack of regulatory approvals.

The company, Baffinland Iron Mines, runs an open pit mining operation on North Baffin Island in the Arctic, which provides jobs to the local Inuit and is a significant contributor to the territory’s economy.

Baffinland jobs safe for now – by David Venn (Nunatsiaq News – September 22, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://nunatsiaq.com/

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. has pushed back the date it was to start letting go its Mary River mine employees. The move came Thursday after the Nunavut Impact Review Board issued a positive recommendation on the company’s application for a higher iron ore shipping limit.

The mining company can prevent “potential significant adverse ecosystemic and socioeconomic effects” if it improves adaptive management and monitoring programs, board chairperson Marjorie Kaviq Kaluraq wrote in a letter to federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal Thursday.

Global collaboration essential to realise $1.4tr iron, steel decarbonisation investment – by Marleny Arnoldi (Mining Weekly – September 15, 2022)

September 16, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

To meet 2050 climate goals, the global iron and steel industry will require $1.4-trillion of investment across the value chain, from mining to steelmaking, estimates research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac).

A research report, titled ‘Pedal to the metal: iron and steel’s $1.4-trillion shot at decarbonisation’, published by WoodMac states that iron and steel emit 3.4-billion tonnes of carbon a year combined, equal to 7% of global emissions. This while steel demand growth is not slowing down, and is estimated to reach 2.2-billion tonnes a year by 2050 – 15% higher than the demand for steel in 2021.

Baffinland promotes proposed production increase at Nunavut regulator meeting – by Jane George (Eye On The Arctic/RCI.ca – August 17, 2022)

August 18, 2022

https://www.rcinet.ca/

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. says it will stop production at its Mary River iron mine, end shipping and cut jobs to about 80 on site if its request to increase its 2022 production isn’t approved by the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

About 300 Inuit are now employed at the mine, the company said. “That’s a lot of lives that will be impacted,” said Baffinland’s vice-president Megan Lord-Hoyle Tuesday at the review board’s community roundtable in Pond Inlet.

Why Australian iron ore could save Taiwan as China ponders the economic ramifications of invasion – by Ian Verrender (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – August 14, 2022)

August 15, 2022

https://www.abc.net.au/

As the dark clouds of war gathered over north-east Asia in 1938, a curious battle took place at home which forever tainted the memory of Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies and that could be a portend of what lies ahead.

Then-Attorney General in the Lyons government, Menzies became embroiled in a fight with waterfront unions in Port Kembla over the loading of a British steamer, the SS Dalfram, with BHP produced pig-iron bound for Japan.

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

August 5, 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.

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

August 5, 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.

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

August 3, 2022

Homepage

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.

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

July 13, 2022July 13, 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.

BHP loses appeal to multibillion lawsuit over Samarco disaster – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 8, 2022)

July 8, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX: BHP) said on Friday it had lost an appeal in a London court seeking to block an over £5 billion ($6bn-plus) lawsuit by 200,000 Brazilians over a deadly dam failure in Brazil seven years ago.

The group claim, one of the largest in British legal history, alleged that BHP, the world’s largest miner by market value, ignored safety warnings as the dam’s capacity was repeatedly increased by raising its height – and disregarded cracks that pointed to early signs of rupture.

Sad cost of China’s plan to ditch Australia – by Ben Graham (News.com.au – July 4, 2022)

July 4, 2022

https://www.news.com.au/

China is on a mission to break its dependence on Australia at all costs, but a new report has revealed the superpower is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. One of the key ingredients it needs to fuel its ambitious growth plans to become the world’s most powerful and influential nation is iron ore, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel.

Australia is the biggest exporter of the red stuff which is mined largely in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and pumps an astronomical amount of money into the nation’s economy.

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

June 8, 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.

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

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.

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)

May 25, 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.”

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

May 12, 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.