Canada gives mineral-rich Arctic region of Nunavut control over its resources

THAT MAKES IT A PROVINCE

Reuters | January 18, 2024 |

The Northern Lights over the Meliadine mine in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. Agnico Eagle photo

Canada on Thursday formally gave the giant Arctic territory of Nunavut control over its reserves of gold, diamonds, iron, cobalt and rare earth metals, a move that could boost exploration and development.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a devolution agreement in the Nunavut capital Iqaluit with Premier P.J. Akeeagok, granting the territory the right to collect royalties that would otherwise go to the federal government.

Nunavut, a region of growing strategic importance as climate change makes shipping lanes and resources more accessible, covers 810,000 square miles (2.1 million square km) but has a population of only 40,000. An almost complete lack of infrastructure means operating costs are exorbitant.

“We can now bring decision-making about our land and waters home. It means that we, the people most invested in our homeland, will be the ones managing our natural resources,” Akeeagok said in a statement.

Challenges include harsh weather, lack of infrastructure, high costs, major social problems and a largely unskilled and undereducated Inuit aboriginal workforce.

Nunavut, created in 1999, was the only one of Canada’s three northern territories that had not negotiated devolution. Talks on the agreement started in October 2014.

Companies active in Nunavut include Agnico-Eagle Mines, operator of the territory’s only working gold mine.

Nunavut is home to some of the minerals critical for battery production. Canada has pledged billions in incentives to woo companies involved in all levels of the electric vehicle supply chain as the world seeks to cut carbon emissions.

But operating mines can be a complex affair in Nunavut, where some communities are concerned about potential pollution.

In 2022, Ottawa rejected a request by Baffinland Iron Mine Corp – part-owned by ArcelorMittal – to double production at its Mary River iron ore mine in the north of Nunavut, citing the environmental impact.

In 2020, Canada rejected Shandong Gold Mining’s bid for an indebted local gold producer amid concerns about a Chinese state-owned entity operating in the Arctic.

(By Natalie Maerzluft and David Ljunggren; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)

Shipping frenzy threatens Indigenous food security

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

Arctic shipping and the noise and environmental pollution left in its wake are driving narwhals and other animals farther away from those who depend on them.

Lisa Koperqualuk points to the Inuit community of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), a northern Baffin Island hamlet with a population of around 1,500, as an example of how shipping has affected Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland stretching through Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland.

Over the past decade, the number of ships has increased in Mittimatalik’s waters. The increase of ships includes shipping vessels transporting iron from the Mary River Mine on Baffin Island 160 kilometres south of the community, as well as cruise and cargo ships, carrying both tourists and supplies to the North. It’s caused narwhals to veer far from their normal migratory routes to escape the noise and environmental pollution of shipping, Koperqualuk said. Over the past five years, the average number of ships passing through Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) because of the mine is around 71, Peter Akman, head of stakeholder relations and communications, told Canada's National Observer. However, that number was around 10 ships lower in 2022, as numbers can fluctuate depending on the size of the ships, Akman added.

In 2022, 22 cruise ships visited Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) with more ships expected in 2023, according to a territorial website commenting on the town's infrastructure plan. A handful of private yachts also visit the island throughout the shipping season, according to Nunatsiaq News.

That, in turn, has forced Inuit hunters from Mittimatalik to adapt and travel long distances to find narwhals and other marine life. Meat from narwhals and other whales is an important cultural food, often referred to in Inuit communities as country food for its comfort and symbolism of home.

Koperqualuk, vice-chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and president of the Canadian wing of the Inuit political organization, attended the International Maritime Organization’s meeting last week to advocate for Inuit demands, including new guidelines for underwater noise and reductions to greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry. The outcome was disappointing for her and other Indigenous communities to the south.

Koperqualuk told Canada’s National Observer new voluntary guidelines for underwater noise were agreed upon at the IMO, which is a United Nations agency responsible for regulating international shipping. However, they are dependent upon the “trust” and “goodwill” of individual ship owners. There are no mechanisms to ensure the ships comply, Koperqualuk said.



Baffinland, the company who operates Mary River Mine, told Canada's National Observer that they use several mitigation measures to help curb effects on marine life, Akman said.

The company employs six full-time and four part-time Inuit shipping monitors based in Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) to address community concerns and questions. The Inuit shipping monitors also track vessels in the region and report when ships exceed speed limits or stray from a set route.

Ships that carry product for the mine are confined to a narrow shipping route, travel in convoys to reduce underwater sound, and are restricted to a maximum speed of nine knots, which is around 16 kilometres an hour, Akman said.

The company also tracks narwhal numbers and shares it with a working group composed of government agencies, non-governmental organizations and Inuit-led organizations.

"We have voluntarily implemented these strict mitigation measures to reduce the potential impact of our shipping activities on marine mammals, especially narwhal," Akman said.

However, until shipping can move away from fossil fuels like diesel and natural gas, the industry will still pollute waters, including through black carbon. IMO members agreed to a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 when compared to 2008 levels, which would keep global warming to 1.7 C, Bloomberg reports. But that number fell short of the 1.5 C limit that Inuit and Indigenous communities in the South Pacific were demanding. The shipping industry will reach its share of the world’s carbon budget — which also aims to limit warming to 1.5 C — by approximately 2032, according to Bloomberg.

Koperqualuk called the Pacific islanders “climate champions” for pushing the IMO for reductions and believed it was those communities that secured a better deal.

“If it hadn't been for them, I think the deal, the new strategy would have been still weaker; the outcome could have been worse,” she said.

Inuit share the same values and viewpoints as Pacific islanders because both regions share the same vulnerability to a changing climate, as well as a dependence on ocean ecosystems.

The federal government has acknowledged the Arctic is warming at four times the speed of the rest of the planet, creating drastic changes to the environment and Inuit way of life. In the South Pacific, entire islands are at risk of being submerged by sea level rise.

For example, shipping impacts the Arctic differently than in other locales due to the cold water of the Arctic Ocean, which causes sounds to travel farther, Koperqualuk said. Inuit harvesters have observed that marine life can hear ships even a day away, moving a day or two ahead of the arrival of a ship, she added.

“What we succeeded in doing was having an Inuit knowledge or Indigenous knowledge taken into consideration when operating ships as they pass through the Arctic waters.”

Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Inuit, environmental groups praise cruises for agreeing to avoid Eclipse Sound

Story by The Canadian Press • June 3, 2023

Inuit, environmental groups praise cruises for agreeing to avoid Eclipse Sound© Provided by The Canadian Press

POND INLET, Nunavut — A marine conservation charity and Inuit hunters are praising cruise operators for agreeing to avoid a Nunavut waterway where thousands of narwhal migrate each summer.

The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators recently said its members' ships would not travel through Eclipse Sound this summer and instead go through the Pond Inlet strait.

Oceans North and the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization had requested the move as numbers of summering narwhal in the area off the northeastern coast of Baffin Island have decreased, which they say is due to increased shipping traffic.

“Narwhal continue to decline in our area and have not bounced back to historical numbers as we had hoped," David Qamaniq, chair of the hunters and trappers organization, said in a news release. "We thank the cruise ship operators for working with us this year to protect the animals that remain."

Aerial surveys have shown a drop in the number of narwhal migrating to Eclipse Sound from Baffin Bay. Surveys conducted for Baffinland Iron Mines Corp, which operates the Mary River Mine, estimate numbers decreased from 5,019 in 2020, to 2,595 in 2021. The company said, however, its 2022 estimate shows an increase to 4,592.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada estimated there were more than 12,000 narwhal in Eclipse Sound in 2016 and more than 20,000 in 2004.

"This area historically is some of the most important narwhal habitat anywhere in the world," said Chris Debicki, Ocean North's vice president of policy development, noting Milne Inlet, a small arm of Eclipse Sound, is a critical calving area.

"Displacing narwhal from that area not only moves narwhal out of their preferred habitat, but also potentially makes it much harder for harvesters to participate in narwhal hunts."

Hunters from Mittimatalik, or Pond Inlet, rely on narwhal for food, livelihoods and culture.

While cruise ships avoiding Eclipse Sound will make a difference, Debicki said, they make up just a fraction of ship traffic. The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said its ships accounted for 14 per cent of those travelling through the area last year with 15 ships making 26 trips. It said 14 of its members have planned 32 stops in Pond Inlet this summer.

Oceans North said the majority of ships are travelling to and from the Mary River Mine, with 44 vessels making 76 trips in Eclipse Sound and adjacent fiords in 2022, or around 40 per cent of all ship traffic.

A report from working groups from the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission and Canada/Greenland Joint Commission on Beluga and Narwhal published earlier this year concluded increased shipping traffic is "by far the most likely cause" of declining narwhal numbers in Eclipse Sound, particularly from the iron ore mine.

Baffinland has criticized the report and said factors other than shipping may have led to the decrease. It said that includes changing ice conditions and predator-prey dynamics, which the report disputes.

Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman said the company welcomes the decision by the cruise operators association and "any measures that protect marine life and balance the needs of the local community as a whole."

He noted Baffinland has several voluntary mitigation measures including the use of convoys, avoiding restricted areas, using a fixed shipping route and capping vessel speeds at nine knots. Akman added the company employs six full-time and four part-time Inuit shipping monitors in Pond Inlet.

Last summer the company raised concerns about cruise ships travelling too fast in the area. Akman said it has continued to reach out to Oceans North, the Association of Arctic Expedition and Cruise Operators and cruise ships approved to travel through the community this summer to support its marine mitigation measures.

Baffinland, which began operations in 2015, has a request with the Nunavut Impact Review Board to increase the amount of ore its allowed to ship from the mine to six million tonnes from 4.2 million tonnes, as it has been permitted annually since 2018, using up to 84 ore carriers. It is additionally asking to ship ore that was stranded at the Milne port last year, as well as any that could be left behind at the end of this year's shipping season.

Oceans North and the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization have called on the federal government to issue an interim order under the Canada Shipping Act to close the Eclipse Sound and adjacent fiord system this summer to all non-essential vessels and enforce a speed limit of nine knots. They said Transport Canada should also work with Baffinland to reduce shipping through Eclipse Sound and Milne Inlet.

"We believe these to be the minimum steps needed toward reducing the risk of extirpation of the Eclipse Sound narwhal population," a March letter from the organizations states.

Transport Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2023.

— By Emily Blake in Yellowknife

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press

MINING IS NOT SUSTAINABLE

So long Milne Inlet: After expansion rejection, Baffinland turns to Steensby rail

Fri, February 17, 2023 

A ship is loaded at Baffinland's Milne Inlet port on North Baffin Island. (Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. - image credit)

Baffinland Iron Mines is reviving a plan put on the backburner years ago, to ship ore from its Mary River mine in Nunavut using a railway south to Steensby Inlet.

The announcement follows a decision in November from Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal to reject the company's Phase 2 expansion proposal. That plan would have seen a 100-kilometre railway built from the mine north to Milne Inlet. Right now, the company uses a tote road to bring ore to that port.

Baffinland CEO Brian Penney announced the new plan at a conference in Ottawa earlier this month.

"Our focus over the next 18 months is to begin the transition to a southern railway operation. At this moment — we are passionately working to secure the financing need to get the Steensby Project up and running," Penney said, at the Northern Lights conference and trade show.

"This has been our plan all along and the Phase 2 expansion was a step toward this plan."

The proposal to build a railway south to Steensby Inlet was approved a decade ago when the mine was given the green light. It would have included an all-season deep-water port, and ice-breaking ore carriers travelling through Foxe Basin.

Baffinland soon changed plans, though — saying it couldn't raise the money to build the Steensby railway — and opted for a road and port at Milne Inlet.

CBC

Penney says the railway south to Steensby is about five times more expensive than the one Baffinland had proposed to build to Milne Inlet.

Now, Penney says, things have changed. He says the company has now demonstrated the size of the resource and the mine's potential lifespan — making it easier to raise capital.

Penney also says the mine's high-grade iron ore requires less processing, and so that makes it vital in light of "the world's need and growing willingness to reduce its carbon footprint."

"While other metals are also vital, green steel is required in virtually every aspect of that shift. And green steel is critically dependent on high grade ore. Which puts Nunavut at the centre of it all."

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.

Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman said the Steensby plan is already approved under the company's existing project certificate and water licence. He said the company would now need to apply for some additional permits for the railway and port infrastructure at Steensby.

A statement from Minister Vandal's office confirmed the earlier approval of the Steensby plan.

"The southern route through Steensby Inlet has previously received approval through the appropriate review process and we are encouraged by Baffinland's continued engagement with local communities and Inuit partners," the statement reads.

Lori Idlout, Nunavut's MP, predicts there will be a lot of concern among nearby communities about the new plan.

She said the rejection of the Phase 2 proposal should have been a signal to Baffinland "that they need to work better with Inuit."

"And obviously with this announcement, it sounds like they're not planning to do that."

 

Canadian miner working on proposal to keep Nunavut iron mine open

The company had previously said it needed to expand its Mary River operation in order to keep it viable — but its expansion plans weren't approved.

By

 Emma Tranter, Nunatsiaq News

 -

December 28, 2022

1

Baffinland staff meet with community members in Arctic Bay on Dec. 8, as part of consultations on the company’s sustained operations proposal. (Baffinland via Nunatsiaq News)

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. is developing a proposal to keep its Mary River iron ore mine running.

The plan, which the company calls a “Sustaining Operations Proposal,” comes a little more than a month after federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal’s Nov. 16 rejection of its phase two proposal to expand operations and double its shipping output from the mine, about 150 kilometers southwest of Pond Inlet.

Baffinland had said it needed to expand its Mary River operation in order to keep it viable. Without the government’s approval of the expansion, the company said it might have to close the mine.

Baffinland began posting information about its plan to keep the mine going on its Facebook page on Dec. 7.

The company recently finished a tour of three of the five North Baffin communities to get feedback on the proposal, said Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. spokesperson Peter Akman in an email.

“Following review of feedback from these parties, the final submission will be provided to the regulators,” he said. The Nunavut Impact Review Board advises the federal government on the social and economic impacts of development projects.

Akman said Baffinland representatives visited Arctic Bay, Clyde River and Pond Inlet, but bad weather meant the team’s flights to Igloolik and Sanirajak were cancelled. Visits to those communities will be made in the new year, he said.

Clyde River Mayor Alan Cormack told Nunatsiaq News he attended the meeting, where he told Baffinland representatives his concerns about the mine’s potential environmental impacts.

“I’m worried about the amount of shipping,” he said.

Despite that, Cormack said he wants to see more Inuit working at the mine if it were to stay open.

Nunatsiaq News was unable to reach the mayors of Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet.

Baffinland’s proposal seeks to continue the mine’s current operations of trucking and shipping six million tonnes of iron ore per year, which the company first started doing in 2018 and was approved again to do in 2022.

But continuing to operate at current levels means Baffinland needs to apply to the Nunavut Impact Review Board to amend the Mary River project certificate. At this point, it is only approved to ship 4.2 million tonnes in 2023.

“Baffinland will be asking communities to consider an option that will see the project continue at the current permitted levels,” Akman said.

He said the company is looking for feedback from the communities and will also “address communities’ questions and uncertainties arising from the minister’s rejection of the Phase 2 Proposal.”

“Application materials filed would reflect community and [Qikiqtani Inuit Association] feedback and information that has been part of previous regulatory and monitoring processes,” Akman said.

“It is our hope that this approach would reduce the regulatory burden for participants, while meeting the need to provide certainty for the operations.”

Brian Penney, Baffinland’s chief executive officer, said in a statement the company is asking Inuit to “consider options for regulatory and operational stability for the current project, to give all of us an opportunity to focus on the long-term vision for Mary River.”

“Ultimately, Baffinland must switch to a rail operation for the economic longevity of the project, but continuing the approved trucking and shipping levels in 2023 and beyond would allow us to sustain operations, maintain important commercial relationships, continue to provide employment and deliver benefits to communities on North Baffin Island,” he said.

Penney is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Northern Lights conference in Ottawa in February, where he plans to address the future of the Mary River mine.

Canada rejects Arctic mine expansion project after years of fierce protest

Community members and campaigners have hailed the move as a win for vulnerable marine ecosystem and wildlife

An aerial view of Baffinland's Mary River iron ore mine on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. Photograph: All Canada Photos/Alamy

Leyland Cecco in Toronto

THE GUARDIAN

Thu 17 Nov 2022

Canada has rejected a mine expansion project in the Arctic after years of uncertainty and fierce protest, in what community members and campaigners say is a win for the vulnerable marine ecosystem and wildlife.

Baffinland Iron Mines’ planned expansion to its Mary River site would have seen it double output to 12m tonnes of iron ore. To bring the ore to market, the mine also said it needed to build a 110km railway to a port near the community of Pond Inlet as well as doubling its shipping.



Cop27: coral conservation groups alarmed over ‘catastrophic losses’

The company – the biggest private-sector employer in Nunavut territory with nearly 2,600 workers – has said the expansion is critical to remaining profitable.

On Wednesday evening, after repeated delays, Canada’s northern affairs minister, Dan Vandal, rejected the company’s application, citing fears from Inuit groups that the expansion could have devastating effects on marine mammals, including key populations of narwhal. The region is home to the densest narwhal population in the world – an important food source for Inuit communities.
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That decision comes six months after the Nunavut Impact Review Board came out against the expansion. The board held in-person meetings in Pond Inlet, the community closest to the mine, as well as in the territorial capital of Iqaluit. After hearing from community members and the mine, it concluded the project could result in “significant adverse eco-systemic effects on marine mammals and fish, caribou and other terrestrial wildlife, along with vegetation and freshwater” as well as “significant adverse socio-economic effects on Inuit harvesting, culture, land use and food security in Nunavut”. The board’s review lasted four years, the longest in its history.

In his Wednesday decision, Vandal wrote that he and other ministers had “carefully considered” the proposal, along with the input from Inuit groups, concluding that the project “should not proceed at this time”.

Vandal said both the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated wrote to him and raised concerns about the proposed expansion, arguing adverse effects couldn’t be “prevented, mitigated, or adaptively managed under the proposed mitigations”.

In his decision, the minister acknowledged the economic significance of the project, given that Baffinland’s operations make up nearly a quarter of the territory’s GDP.
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“However, we have taken particular note of the conclusions of the board, the designated Inuit organizations and the Hunters and Trappers Organizations … who have expressed a lack of confidence that Phase 2, as currently conceived, can proceed without unacceptable impacts,” he wrote.

Many community members have said they aren’t against the mine, but worry the expansion will create irreversible damage.

The decision has been met with approval from marine conservationists. “Our first reaction was relief. It was a very arduous and protracted hearing process. But in that process, communities were loud and clear. They expressed a lot of concern about this,” said Chris Debicki, a vice-president and counsel at the conservation organization Oceans North. “But there are still unresolved issues with respect to the impact of mining and shipping on the ecosystem.” Among their concerns are the effects of the iron dust from large trucks, leading to the possible contamination of sea ice.

Others say they have been overlooked by decision makers in Iqaluit. Under the landmark 1993 Nunavut Agreement, which established a number of key rights for Inuit on their lands, Baffinland is required to negotiate a benefit agreement with the Inuit groups that represent residents of the territory.

Jerry Natanine, mayor of Clyde River, previously told the Guardian he and others were trying to form a new group that would have the power to negotiate royalty payments and have greater say over projects that could affect their communities.

In February 2021, a group of hunters blocked access to the mine in protest, braving frigid temperatures for nearly a week. Seven hunters, some of whom travelled from Clyde River, used snowmobiles and sleds to block the airstrip and service road to the Mary River Mine as temperatures dipped to -30C (-22F).

“The decision comes from years of disappointment from Inuit organizations that don’t look out for our behalf,” Natanine said at the time, adding that hunters are forced to “fight for their culture and their way of life” when projects are imposed on them.

Baffinland, jointly owned by ArcelorMittal and the Houston private equity firm the Energy and Minerals Group, had previously tried to ease concerns over the project, saying it is confident wildlife will not be affected by increased ore shipments. The company has also touted more than C$2bn (US$1.5bn) in royalties paid to Inuit over the mine’s 30-year lifespan.

The company was expected to issue a statement on Thursday in response to the federal government’s decision.

Baffinland gets nod from Nunavut board to extend Mary River operation until year-end

Cecilia Jamasmie | September 23, 2022 

Mary River iron ore mine site on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, (Image courtesy of Baffinland Iron Mines.)

Baffinland Iron Mines has received a positive recommendation from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) to temporarily increase production at its Mary River iron ore mine in Canada’s Nunavut territory to 6 million tonnes through to the end of the year.


The decision, the company said, could help it keep the mine viable and save more than 1,100 jobs off the chopping block this fall.

Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, however, has the final word and there hasn’t been any information on when that decision will come.

“Out of care and concern for the livelihoods of our employees and their families, we are delaying the issuance of termination notices until October 20th, which is the outside date the minister’s office has indicated it will be able to respond to the NIRB recommendation,” the company said.

While Baffinland is pleased about the NIRB’s decision, it is urging the minister to approve the production increase for the rest of the year.

Vandal is also still considering whether to approve Mary River’s Phase 2, which proposes a railway to Milne Inlet, as well as an increase in allowed shipments to 12 tonnes of iron ore a year, with eventual plans to increase that amount. The NIRB earlier rejected that plan.

Expansion detractors have argued for months that expanding the mine’s capacity would affect the world’s densest narwhal population.

Narwhals are a type of whale with a long, spear-like tusk that protrudes from its head. The marine mammal is an important predator in Eclipse Sound and other Arctic waters, as well a major food source for Inuit in the region.

Last year, a group of hunters from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet blocked access to the mine in protest of the company’s ice breaking practices due to their negative impacts on narwhals. The company agreed to avoid ice breaking in spring, based on “the precautionary principle that is the foundation of our adaptive management plan,” Baffinland’s CEO said in a statement at the time.

Glencore Canadian mine workers reach 'tentative agreement' that could end three-month strike

Naimul Karim - 1h ago

Glencore's Raglan mine in Nunavik, Que., produces 40,000 tonnes of nickel annually. Six-hundred and thirty workers at the mine have been on strike since the end of May.

© Provided by Financial Post

Workers at Quebec’s largest nickel mine this week reached a “tentative agreement” with owner Glencore PLC that could restart production more than three months after 630 union members went on strike demanding better working conditions.

The work stoppage began on May 27 after 98 per cent of union workers agreed to push for a better work culture and criticized the increased use of subcontracting. In July, Glencore offered workers a new deal, which included a yearly compensation of at least $130,000, twice the average pay in Quebec, but 77 per cent of the workers rejected it.

“The 630 union members who work at the Raglan mine in Nunavik will be called upon to vote over the next two weeks,” the United Steelworkers Union said about Glencore’s latest offer in a press release on Monday.

A union official refused to disclose the terms of the offer, but on Wednesday said the strike would continue until the result of the vote is known. Meetings will be held next week so that members can better understand the new agreement.

Glencore wasn’t immediately available for a comment.

The Raglan mine in northern Quebec has been in operation since 1997 and annually produces about 40,000 tonnes of nickel. It includes four underground mines called Kikialik, Qakimajurq, Katinniq and Mine 2. Production at the mine has largely been on hold since the strike began.

As one of the largest producers of nickel in Canada, a prolonged closure of the mine could hurt global supplies of Class 1 nickel, which is needed to manufacture electric vehicles, said Patricia Mohr, a former vice-president of economics at the Bank of Nova Scotia, and now an independent analyst who follows battery metals.

In May, Eric Savard, president of the mine’s union, said in a press release that Glencore had been “continually pushing the limits” and that it had reached a point where those who refused to work overtime were given the “cold shoulder.”

Savard added that the mine often had “many more contractors” at the site than unionized workers, which meant fewer economic benefits for the local economy.

Glencore, however, denied the allegations at the time and said the mine had an 86-per-cent satisfaction rate based on internal surveys.

About 1,000 kilometres to the north, the jobs of more than 1,000 workers at a mine in Nunavut remain uncertain as their fortunes depend upon whether Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s extraction permit is renewed and enhanced by the federal government.

Workers received termination notices on July 31, but the company said it would rescind them if it gets a permit to increase its annual extraction limit of iron ore to six million tonnes from its original allowance of 4.2 million tonnes.

Some 1,100 workers are scheduled to be let go over two rounds on Sept. 25 and Oct. 11.

The federal government is waiting on a report by the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), the territory’s environmental assessment agency. The feds asked the board to provide its recommendation by late August, but the NIRB on Aug. 25 said it intends to submit its report on Sept. 19, which is a week before the terminations begin.

“While the board understands that this timeline is greater than what was requested by the minister and urged by Baffinland and several parties, the board has balanced the urgency of the decision, with the board’s obligation to conduct a thorough assessment in the circumstances of each proposal,” NIRB’s chairperson Marjorie Kaviq Kaluraq, said in a letter .

Peter Ackman, a spokesperson for Baffinland, said the company was “optimistic” its permit would be renewed and the jobs “will be saved.”

But the union representing the workers say that the delay has disrupted the lives of the miners. “Its not realistic to issue a decision a few days before mass layoffs are about to start,” said Mike Gallagher, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers.

“It’s not like throwing a switch on or off. People have to plan. They start to make other arrangements. This erodes the workforce.”

Gallagher added that he wrote to the Ministry of Northern Affairs on Tuesday asking the federal government to exercise its authority by renewing the permit and “saving the jobs.”

• Email: nkarim@postmedia.com | Twitter: naimonthefield

BLACKMAILING WORKERS LIVES

Baffinland issues layoff notices to more than 1,100 employees

Tue, August 2, 2022 

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.

The company warned it would have to lay off employees if it didn’t get permission to ship six million tonnes of ore this year out of Milne Inlet.

Baffinland is currently working with a permit that allows it to ship 4.2 million tonnes of iron ore per year, since a temporary permit that allowed it to ship six million expired Dec. 31.

In May, Baffinland asked federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal to sign an emergency order that would allow the company to skip the review process, citing the potential layoffs if its shipping limit wasn’t increased.

Asked why Baffinland didn’t apply for the permit extension earlier so the Nunavut Impact Review Board would have time to consider the application before making a recommendation to Vandal, Akman cited a number of factors, including the status of a larger application that would allow Baffinland to double the mine’s output. The company had been expecting an answer on the proposed expansion before the temporary permit expired.

Vandal denied the request for an emergency order, but has instructed the review board to treat Baffinland’s application as a priority due to the jobs at stake.

“The regulatory process is moving slowly,” Akman wrote. “As a result, Baffinland must continue to take preparatory steps to rescale its operation.”

There is still a chance the company could take back the layoff notices.

“If we receive approval to continue mining at [six million tonnes] this year as we are hoping, we will rescind the termination notices,” Akman said.

David Venn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News

Termination notices sent to over 1,100 Baffinland employees on Sunday

Tue, August 2, 2022

Baffinland's Milne Inlet operations, pictured in January 2021. A company spokesperson says the company is preparing for two rounds of terminations to take effect this fall.

 (Nick Murray/CBC - image credit)

Baffinland Iron Mines sent termination notices to over 1,100 of its staff on Sunday, including 200 Inuit employees.

Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman said the company is preparing for two rounds of terminations to take effect on Sept. 25 and Oct. 11 — if the company does not receive permission to continue extracting six million tonnes of iron ore annually from the Mary River mine.

Akman said the notices affect all employees in any aspect of the company's northern operations.

"Anyone who's working at the two sites, the port or the Mary River site, but also across Iqaluit, and across Nunavut ... Anyone who is working for us, will have potentially received the notices."

One of the employee letters, obtained by CBC News, explains the termination notice is a result of the regulatory process moving "more slowly than is necessary to meet Baffinland's operational requirements."

"As a result, pursuant to section 14.03(2) of the [Nunavut Labour Standards] Act, as of the date of this letter, you are being provided notice that on the 25th day of September 2022, your employment with Baffinland will be terminated," the letter reads.

The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) is currently reviewing a request from the company to carry on extracting ore at a similar rate as recent years, while the federal minister ponders what to do with the NIRB's recommendation that the mine not be allowed to expand as planned.

The minister of Northern Affairs, Dan Vandal, has urged the board to make its recommendation by Aug. 26. In a notice July 19, NIRB said it would be unable to meet that timeline "due to logistical constraints and existing board commitments."

Baffinland said the deadline of its production increase extension was meant to fall after the Phase 2 regulatory process was completed, but due to "a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorization expired before the process concluded."

Intervenor group Oceans North has previously stated that Baffinland's situation is "a foreseeable consequence of poor management and planning," and expressed concern that the company is using the prospect of layoffs to pressure the Nunavut Impact Review Board "to approve current and future expansion of the mine."

Akman said the company is still working on getting its permit to increase its limits to six million tonnes per year, and if it is successful, then Baffinland will rescind the termination notices.

In the meantime, Akman said the letters were sent to employees last weekend "out of an abundance of caution" in the event that mine operations aren't approved by the time it meets its current production limit. He expects the company will reach that limit on the ore extraction side by mid-September, and on the shipping side by early October.

When that happens, and if no approval comes before then, Akman said the company will have "no choice" but to stop production.

"Once we reach that amount, then we have to stop," he said. "For the remainder of 2022 we will have no more work to do."

Akman didn't say whether the employees who could be terminated would be re-hired again.

Nunavut reviewers under pressure to speed up Baffinland review

CBC, Thu, July 14, 2022

Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, seen here last month, has asked that Nunavut's review board make a recommendation by Aug. 26 about Baffinland Iron Mines' request to continue producing up to 6 million tonnes of ore this year from its Mary River mine. 'It is imperative that the assessment ... is prioritized and conducted in an efficient and expeditious manner,' he wrote. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press - image credit)More

A Nunavut board is being urged to make a prompt decision on whether Baffinland Iron Mines should continue to ship up to six million tonnes ore from its Mary River mine this year.

In a letter to the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) on Monday, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal asks for a recommendation from the board by Aug. 26 — a little more than six weeks away.

"While I am aware of other ongoing assessments before the Board, given the time-sensitive nature of this process, it is imperative that the assessment ... is prioritized and conducted in an efficient and expeditious manner," Vandal wrote.

"This timeline, while ambitious, still allows for maintaining the integrity of the process as envisioned under the Nunavut Agreement and the Act."

CBC

Baffinland is asking to continue shipping ore at the same rate as it has in the last few years. In 2018, the company was given temporary approval to up its production from 4.2 million tonnes to six million tonnes, and that approval expired at the end of 2021.

The company wants it extended into 2022, and has threatened mass lay-offs starting at the end of August if it's denied.

"As we have stated previously, without this approval, Baffinland will be forced to drastically reduce our workforce in the fall," said Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman, in an email to CBC on Wednesday.

Minister Vandal rejected an earlier request from Baffinland for an emergency order to produce more ore this year, and instead encouraged the company to go through the NIRB with its proposal.

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.

Now Vandal is urging speed, saying the potential job losses mean the proposal before NIRB "should receive priority over other ongoing review processes."

He suggests forgoing extensive public hearings in favour of written submissions from stakeholders, including local communities and Inuit organizations. Vandal also refers to a suggestion from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), for a "hybrid process," involving some oral testimony along with written submissions.

In a letter earlier this month to the NIRB, QIA suggests such oral testimony might be collected "through means such as teleconferences or video conferences upon the request of individual community organizations."

The timeline suggested by Vandal this week is also "fair in the context all parties are working under," QIA president Olayuk Akesuk told CBC News in an email on Thursday.

More hearings

The spectre of more Baffinland-related hearings may not be a welcome one to some Nunavummiut — a prolonged and sometimes contentious four-year review of the company's proposed expansion plan just wrapped up this year, with the NIRB recommending against that project.

Federal officials are still considering that recommendation and Vandal has said he needs an additional 90 days to issue a decision. His letter to the NIRB on Tuesday suggests that extra time means people can focus on one Baffinland review at a time, and prioritize the immediate production increase and the threat of imminent lay-offs.

That's something QIA pushed for, and Akesuk's email says the minister's actions are "in direct response to QIA's advocacy."

Nick Murray/CBC News

Vandal's letter also tacitly acknowledges that another review of Baffinland's operations at Mary River — this one about the continued production increase in 2022 — could quickly balloon.

"I encourage all parties to focus their interventions on the narrow scope of the Production Increase Proposal Renewal currently under consideration," he wrote.

He cites the "vast amount of information already submitted to the public record" from the reviews of Baffinland's expansion project, and its earlier production increase proposals.

Speaking to CBC News on Wednesday, Karen Costello, executive director of the NIRB, said the board had not yet made any decisions about how the review will be done, or how quickly.

"[Vandal's letter] has been advanced to the board to inform their decision-making, on not only the process but the timing of the process," she said.

'Lack of respect for the regulatory process,' HTO says

Other organizations, along with QIA, have already weighed in on what the process might look like.

David Ningeongan of Nunavut Tunngavik wrote to NIRB last week to say the review process could proceed "in writing with appropriate accommodations and support for community intervenors to ensure their full participation."

The Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization (MHTO), meanwhile, argues that Baffinland's proposed production increase again this year warrants a "full review process." The organization, based in nearby Pond Inlet, Nunavut, argues in a letter to NIRB that the mine is having a devastating impact on local wildlife populations and that amounts to "an emergency for Inuit."

The MHTO also argues that Baffinland knew its production increase to six million tonnes per year was temporary and due to expire last year. The company should have shown better foresight, it says.

"This lack of respect for the regulatory process is not an emergency that warrants the Board accelerating its reconsideration," the MHTO letter states.

"It is a dangerous precedent to set to allow proponents to not plan for the expiry of authorizations and then claim that the impacts to its workforce as a result of that lack of a plan are an emergency that warrants accelerating regulatory reviews."

Environmental group Oceans North echoes those sentiments in its own letter to the NIRB last week, saying Baffinland's request does not constitute an "emergency," and the livelihoods of Nunavummiut should not be on the line.

"This situation is a foreseeable consequence of poor management and planning," Oceans North vice president Christopher Debicki wrote.

Beth Brown/CBC

"Our concern is that Baffinland will continue to use threats of layoffs and mine closure to pressure the NIRB and other stakeholders to approve current and future expansion of the mine."

Oceans North argues that Baffinland's production increase proposal warrants "in-person or videoconference proceedings," and says reviews and hearings should be televised and recorded.

"It is also very important that parties hear each other's concerns. This is difficult to do when each party writes a separate (and at times untranslated) letter," Debicki wrote.

Debicki's letter says the Mary River project has had a significant impact on narwhal populations in the area, and that's not been adequately addressed in earlier reviews.

Federal minister delays 

Baffinland decision by 

another 90 days

Tue, July 12, 2022 

A view of Baffinland Iron Mine's port at Milne Inlet in Eclipse Sound on North Baffin Island. Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal has asked for more time to issue his decision on whether a major expansion to Baffinland's Mary River mine should take place. (Submitted by Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation - image credit)

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.

The minister also has the power to notify the proponent — Baffinland — if more time is needed.

"Given the government of Canada's commitment to renewing the relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples, the responsible ministers and I want to ensure that potentially affected Inuit have adequate time to consider the board's phase 2 report and recommendation relative to potential impacts on their rights," Vandal wrote in his letter to the board.

Time to focus on production increase

The extension will also "provide Inuit and others time to focus their efforts on the current production increase proposal renewal," Vandal wrote.

Last month, Baffinland submitted a proposal to the Nunavut Impact Review Board seeking approval to continue extracting six million tonnes of ore per year from its Mary River mine. A previous, temporary approval to increase production from 4.2 million tonnes to six million expired on Dec. 31.

In a statement to CBC News, Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman said the company welcomes the news of the delay, as it will give more time for all groups involved to "make an informed decision."

Akman also noted a second letter that Vandal has issued to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, which asks for an expedited hearing on the company's proposed temporary production increase.

In his letter, Vandal asked that the board deliver its recommendation to him on that request by Aug. 26.

"We have been mining at 6.0 million tonnes since 2018," Akman wrote. "As we have stated previously, without this approval, Baffinland will be forced to drastically reduce our workforce in the fall."

The company has said it's preparing to lay off up to 1,328 employees starting at the end of August if the production increase is not approved.

The company has also said that phase 2 of its operations, if approved, would create about 600 new jobs for North Baffin Inuit in its first three years of operations, and an additional 1,800 jobs overall.

Inuit argued successfully to the Nunavut Impact Review Board that the environmental costs of increasing shipping in the Arctic outweighed the benefits.

Inuit afraid to show Baffinland support: former councillor

Yesterday

There are Inuit who support Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s proposed mine expansion, but they might not say so out loud, says a former Pond Inlet hamlet councillor.

Joanna Innualuk-Kunnuk said people have always been wary of supporting the mine publicly.

“Most of the people who support phase two won’t say anything,” Innualuk-Kunnuk said in an interview.

“When you’re poor and hungry, you have no say. And the people who are more wealthy have a better say, because they show themselves as a successful person and you’re not.”

On May 13, the Nunavut Impact Review Board recommended federal Northern Affairs Minister Daniel Vandal reject Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River plan to build a 110-kilometre railroad and double its shipping output from six to 12 million tonnes of iron ore per year.

Vandal’s decision is expected later this summer.

The board’s recommendation concluded a four-year public hearing that heard from community members, Inuit organizations, Baffinland, hamlets and hunters and trappers organizations in communities that may be affected by the expansion.

Baffinland stated throughout the hearing that it may temporarily close down the mine if Vandal doesn’t issue the company a project certificate.

If the proposal is approved, the company expects expansion to bring 127 jobs to the community.

Innualuk-Kunnuk said she wants to see the expansion happen slowly and carefully, so it doesn’t come at the expense of the land and animals.

“I want [the mine] to grow, but I don’t want it to grow so fast that it ruins us and our community and the land and the animals,” Innualuk-Kunnuk said.

She wants young people in the community to be able to get jobs and afford equipment to hunt. She’s proud of the ones who are already working at the mine and can afford snowmobiles.

In April, she had to resign from council and leave Pond Inlet to receive cancer treatment in Ottawa.

“I still need my grandkids and my great-grandkids to have land and hunting and teach them about our ways,” she said.

“[But] in order to keep our traditions alive, we need economic development to grow in our communities so we can buy stuff to take us out on land … so it’s mixed feelings.”

A lack of trust between some Inuit and the company began around December 2012, when Baffinland received a project certificate to ship 18 million tonnes of iron ore through Steensby Inlet and build a 149-kilometre railway connecting that port to the mine, she said.

Just over a month later, the company said it couldn’t afford that project and instead needed to make money by trucking 3.5 million tonnes of iron ore to Milne Inlet.

“We shouldn’t have said yes to the money-making proposal at first,” Innualuk-Kunnuk said.

“The elders and all the people in Pond said, ‘Yes, go ahead, go ahead’ [with the Steensby Inlet plan]. Then [the company] changed and Baffinland kind of tricked us.”

The company said in November it still plans to fulfill that project certificate and eventually have 30 million tonnes of iron ore being shipped per year — 12 million out of Milne Inlet and 18 from Steensby Inlet.

Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman confirmed that is still the plan, but said the company will have to re-evaluate its future if the expansion is not approved by Vandal.

Kaujak Komangapik, an elder, mother and board member of the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization, said she wants to see Baffinland revert back to its Steensby Inlet proposal, because Milne Inlet shouldn’t be open to mining.

“I don’t want Milne Inlet to be serving ships, because narwhals usually migrate over there,” she said, adding she is happy with the review board’s recommendation because the company is “damaging the land already.”

Baffinland has implemented monitoring systems that are run partially by Inuit for environmental impacts, such as the marine and terrestrial working groups. They identify and then address any effects the mine might have on the environment, Akman said.

In terms of narwhal, the company has produced three consecutive years of aerial surveys the federal government typically does every seven years, and plans to implement a tagging program in 2022, Akman said.

“Our environmental monitoring programs continue to confirm the effects of the project are within what was predicted,” he said. “This does not mean the effects the communities are experiencing are not also happening, but in all cases the project is not driving them.”

Aaron Pitseolak, a hunter and office administrator for the Nunavut government, attributes the lack of narwhals around Milne Inlet to the ship noise and said some of the water near the project is discoloured, translucent and dusty.

“For me, no mining would be good, but they’re not going to go away. It’s best [to] try to work with them and see what can work better always and gear towards that,” Pitseolak said.

Baffinland has moved closer to where some Inuit want to see it, but he believes it can do better, he said.

“Bringing jobs — I’m really happy for that. But at what cost, right?” he said. “The land and animals are going to suffer and, in turn, us.”

Asked if Baffinland agrees there are impacts caused by dust from the mine, Akman said it hasn’t caused any “unanticipated impacts” to air, water, fish, freshwater or vegetation, and that there are other natural causes of dust spread.

“The visibility of dust on snow or in drinking water affects Inuit perceptions regarding the esthetics and quality of the environment,” he said, adding Baffinland will commit to improving its dust management.

The company has proposed to crush ore indoors, spray the tote road with material to contain the dust, and postpone shiploading when there are high winds if phase two is approved, Akman said.

David Venn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News

UPDATED

Review board rejects Baffinland expansion plans in Nunavut

Cecilia Jamasmie | May 16, 2022 

Mary River iron ore mine site on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, 

(Image courtesy of Baffinland Iron Mines.)

Baffinland Iron Mines’ proposed expansion of its Mary River iron ore operation on the northern tip of Baffin Island, in Canada’s territory of Nunavut, has suffered a major blow after a review board advised against the project on environmental grounds.


After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) rejected last week the miner’s request to more than double output to 12 million tonnes a year, to eventually reach 30 million tonnes annually.

The board cited “significant adverse ecosystemic effects” on marine mammals such as narwhals, fish, caribou and other wildlife, which in turn could harm Inuit culture, as the main reason for the decision.

The company said it was both surprised and disappointed by the board’s decision.

“Our … proposal is based on years of in-depth study and detailed scientific analysis, and has considerable local support based on years of consultation with Inuit and local communities,” chief executive officer Brian Penney said in the statement.

“We will be asking the federal government to consider all of the evidence and input and to approve the … application with fair and reasonable conditions,” Penney noted.

Dan Vandal, the federal northern affairs Minister, has 90 days to either side with the review board or the mining company, in which steel giant ArcelorMittal has a 28% stake. The rest of Baffinland is held by Nunavut Iron Ore Inc., which is controlled by a Texas-based private equity firm called the Energy & Minerals Group.

“I will be taking time to review the report along with federal officials,” Vandal said on Twitter. “A decision will be taken following appropriate due diligence and comprehensive analysis, including whether the duty to consult has been met or not.”

Mary River, considered one of the world’s richest iron deposits, opened in 2015 and ships about six million tonnes of ore a year.

If the expansion is approved, Baffinland would send about 12 million tonnes of the 30 million tonnes via the North Railway to Milne Port. It also plans to build a second railway to Steensby Port, from which it intendes to ship an additional 18 million tonnes of ore a year.

Current shipping volumes have already had a “devastating” impact on the area’s narwhal population, the world’s densest, vice-chairperson of the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization, Enookie Inuarak, said in an emailed statement.

Narwhals are a type of whale with a long, spear-like tusk that protrudes from its head. The marine mammal is an important predator in Eclipse Sound and other Arctic waters, as well a major food source for Inuit in the region.

Last year, a group of hunters from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet blocked access to the mine in protest of the company’s ice breaking practices due to their negative impacts on narwhals.

The company agreed to avoid ice breaking in spring, based on “the precautionary principle that is the foundation of our adaptive management plan,” Baffinland’s CEO said in a statement at the time.

Loss of economic benefits

In its report, the NIRB acknowledged the loss of economic benefits Phase 2 would cause to Inuits, which has been conservatively estimated at C$2.4 billion (about $1.9bn) based on the current size of the known mineral resource.

“Many residents in the affected communities also expressed the view that the potential positive socio-economic benefits of the proposal focus on financial benefits, while the negative socio-economic effects focus on effects on land use, harvesting, culture and food security that cannot be compensated with money,” NIRB said in the 441-page report.

Area of the proposed mine expansion on the northern tip of Baffin Island is home to the world’s densest narwhal population. (Stock image.)

The same board recommended against construction of the Back River gold in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region in 2016. Then-federal minister Carolyn Bennett rejected that advice and asked NIRB to give Sabina Gold & Silver’s (TSX: SBB) project a second chance.

The mine was approved the following year and the project stands as a fully permitted, financing package settled and shovel ready mine.

Nunavut review board recommends against iron ore mine expansion on Baffin Island

 The Canadian Press

CAMBRIDGE BAY, Nunavut — The Nunavut Impact Review Board is recommending the proposed expansion of an iron ore mine on the northern tip of Baffin Island should not go ahead.

Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. is seeking to expand its Mary River iron ore mine near Pond Inlet by doubling its annual output from six to 12 million tonnes.

The mine, considered one of the world's richest iron deposits, opened in 2015 and ships about six million tonnes of ore a year.

The mine says the expansion would more than double employment at the mine to more than 1,000.

The review board said Friday in a release that there is potential for the proposal to have significant and lasting negative effects on marine mammals, the marine environment, fish, caribou and other wildlife, vegetation and freshwater.

The board said these negative effects could also impact Inuit harvesting, culture, land use and food security.

"The Board has concluded that the proposal as assessed cannot be carried out in a manner that will protect the ecosystemic integrity of the Nunavut Settlement Area and that will protect and promote the existing and future well-being of the residents and communities of the Nunavut Settlement Area, and Canada more generally," the board said.

"As a result, the board has recommended to the Minister that the Phase 2 Development Proposal as assessed should not be permitted to proceed at this time."

Federal Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal thanked the board for its work and said the government will review the report and its recommendation.

"I will be taking time to review the report along with federal officials," Vandal said on Twitter. "A decision will be taken following appropriate due diligence and comprehensive analysis, including whether the duty to consult has been met or not."

The mine proposal has faced opposition, including from hunters and trappers in the community closest to the mine.

Inuit hunters said they feared an expansion of the mine could hasten the ongoing decline of a narwhal population that they rely on for food.

In a letter sent last week to the board, the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization said the mine is already harming their ability to harvest the important food source.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2022

Inuit fear ruling on Arctic mine expansion could hasten ongoing narwhal decline

Inuit hunters fear an upcoming ruling on an Arctic mine expansion could hasten the ongoing decline of a narwhal population that they rely on for food.


© Provided by The Canadian Press

Harvesters from Pond Inlet on the northern coast of Baffin Island say numbers of the iconic, single-tusked whale are already a small fraction of what they were before the Mary River iron mine began operating.

They say a decision expected Friday from the Nunavut Impact Review Board could make things even worse by allowing the mine to nearly double the amount of ship traffic through nearby waters.

"We're used to seeing thousands and thousands of narwhal," said Enooki Inuarak. "We used to go to sleep hearing the narwhals breathe.

"The last couple years, there has been barely any."

In a letter sent last week to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization says the mine is already harming their ability to harvest the important food source.

"Narwhal are less abundant ... narwhal behaviours are changing, and ... hunters are having limited success in their attempts to harvest," the letter says.

The Mary River mine is owned by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. The mine, considered one of the world's richest iron deposits, opened in 2015 and ships about six million tonnes of ore a year. The company has said the mine's expansion would create 325 jobs.

Aerial surveys conducted for Baffinland suggest summer narwhal numbers in Eclipse Sound declined to about 2,600 in 2021 from 20,000 in 2004.

Meanwhile, shipping in the area — mostly traffic to and from the mine — has increased dramatically. In 2021, nearly 245 trips were made to and from Milne Inlet, where the mine's ore is loaded. In 2015, that figure was 42.

Baffinland said it expects to see 168 visits by ore carriers if the expansion is approved. Josh Jones at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, who is studying the proposal, said that would mean more than 450 individual transits by carriers, icebreakers and other mine-associated vessels.

Other research has linked marine traffic and whale behaviour, said Kristin Westdal, Arctic science director for the environmental group Oceans North. She said vessels create underwater noise that interferes with the animal's ability to locate prey and communicate.

"That research clearly points to an increasing level of sound, sound which overlaps with that of narwhal frequencies.

"The animals are responding to the vessels. They're moving away, they're changing direction."

Baffinland disagrees that constant, low-level disruptions are driving the narwhal away.

"Based on the expert advice of marine biologists ... with the application of the mitigation measures proposed under the Phase 2 proposal, increased shipping does not represent a significant risk to narwhal," Baffinland spokesman Peter Akman said in an email.

He suggested the Eclipse Sound narwhal have simply migrated to Admiralty Inlet on the other side of Baffin Island. Changing ice conditions or "prey/predator dynamics" — killer whales are present in the area — may also be factors, he wrote.

That doesn't help Pond Inlet hunters, who must ask permission to hunt in another community's waters.

"For countless generations we relied on them for our diet," Inuarak said. "It's part of our life.

"We're here because of the wildlife."

Baffinland has promised to impose nine-knot speed limits throughout the shipping corridor, lower than limits in whale habitats elsewhere. It also said it will reduce transits in shoulder seasons, reducing the need for icebreakers.

That won't help, said Westdal.

She said the number of transits should be reduced and icebreaking should be "off the table," restricting Baffinland to the open-water season. She noted that Eclipse Sound is in Tallurutiup Imanga, a national marine preserve.

"We think you can have the marine park and the community and the mine," Westdal said. "But if we keep going in this trajectory, we're just going to have the mine."

The hunters and trappers of Pond Inlet have called for similar measures.

"The Board (should) consider requiring Baffinland to implement adaptive management measures in order to protect the marine environment and to limit impacts to narwhal and Inuit harvesting rights," says their letter.

Baffinland said its willing to talk.

"If our monitoring programs ... identify reasonable linkages between the project and unacceptable changes to narwhal and/or harvesting in the future, Baffinland will respond accordingly," Akman wrote.

He said that could include changes to the shipping season, ship speeds and transit restrictions.

Inuarak is aware of the importance of jobs, but he said only a few people in Pond Inlet depend on the mine. Food is more important, he said.

"It impacts our culture and our traditions. We're being pushed back to the point we have to defend our way of life and our food source."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2022.

— Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

North Baffin hunters call for 10-year freeze on Baffinland mine expansion

Pond Inlet latest hamlet to express support for proposal to expand Mary River iron mine

By David Venn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Three north Baffin hunters and trappers associations are calling for a ban on increased ore production at Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River mine.

The hunters and trappers associations for Hall Beach, Igloolik and Arctic Bay want the Nunavut Impact Review Board to stop the mine from increasing its ore production for 10 years. They also want the review board to recommend against allowing the mining company’s expansion proposal. NIRB is responsible for evaluating the social and economic impacts of developments projects, such as a mine expansion, and making a recommendation to the federal government about whether a proposal should be approved.

The Hall Beach and Igloolik HTAs also want the company to be barred from building and operating a port at Steensby Inlet. The company was granted a project certificate to do so in 2012.

The hunters and trappers associations spelled out these positions in closing statements sent to the review board on Monday.

As it stands, Baffinland is permitted to ship six million tonnes of iron ore a year from Milne Inlet. The company wants to double its shipments and to build a 110-km railroad between the mine and Milne Inlet and a dock at the port.

More than two years after the board’s public hearings on the proposed mine expansion began, hunter representatives continue to raise a range of concerns about the environmental impact of the mine’s operations.

Arctic Bay’s Ikajutit HTA chairperson Qaumajuq Oyukuluk said the impacts of the expansion could be “devastating.”

“We must be cautious and fully understand the impacts of the existing operation and steps needed to mitigate negative impacts before rushing forward and expanding this development,” Oyukuluk wrote in the association’s statement.

Clyde River Mayor Alan Cormack and Nangmautaq HTA chairperson Apiusie Apak, in a joint closing statement, did not specifically call for a moratorium.

But they said affected communities need time to determine if decreases to narwhal stock and other environmental problems are due to mining, before any increase in shipping is allowed.

Under the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, the review board has the ability to recommend a condition, such as a moratorium, to the federal northern affairs minister, who can then approve the new condition even if a project is already approved.

Karen Costello, executive director of the review board, said the last time she can recall the board receiving submissions for a moratorium was for Areva’s Kiggavik uranium mining project, which didn’t get approved.

Costello, who would not comment directly on Baffinland’s ongoing proposal, said the board has never issued a project certificate containing a moratorium.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association does not support the expansion, either, and referred to the ongoing impacts brought up by HTAs.

The mine is slowly building its way up to a 30-million-tonne project and Inuit are still figuring out what the six-million-tonne project is doing to the environment, read the association’s closing statement.

“Inuit are only beginning to experience the scope of impacts of the initial project,” the statement reads, adding that there are increasing concerns that the plans Baffinland has in place to mitigate impacts are not working.

Some organizations and hamlets involved are starting to support the expansion, however.

Pond Inlet Mayor Joshua Arreak, in the hamlet’s final statement, listed a number of benefits the mine has brought or will bring to the community, including more than $16 million paid in wages to residents since 2015 and the commitment to a $10-million Inuit training centre if the expansion is approved.

The deadline for Baffinland’s final submission is Jan. 24. The board will then decide if it has enough information to make its recommendation and close the hearing.

It’s up to Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal to approve or reject the project after he receives the board’s recommendation.