Pond Inlet tired of Mary River delays
Hamlet wants approval, but review board needs more information from Baffinland
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, November 7, 2016
MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET
The Hamlet of Pond Inlet wants Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.'s Mary River Project's Phase 2 proposal to move to a public hearing as soon as possible.
"We wish to continue with the community consultation process through NIRB (Nunavut Impact Review Board)," Mayor Charlie Inuarak wrote the regulator Oct. 26.
A brief history of the Mary River project
The original Mary River Project included a railway south to Steensby Inlet and year-round ice-breaking shipping through Foxe Basin and Hudson Strait. Then, an Early Revenue Phase plan consisted of trucking ore north from the mine to Milne Inlet, and shipping a much smaller quantity during the open water season.
"While Baffinland justified needing this development phase to build revenue for constructing the larger approved project, they sought and received approval to carry out this shipping throughout the life of the project," Barry said.
Next came Baffinland's Phase 2 proposal, which included icebreaking in order to ship ore for an extended out-of-season period from Milne Inlet. The Phase 2 proposal was submitted to the Nunavut Planning Commission in October, 2014.
In March 2015, the commission – in its first ever negative conformity decision – said the proposal did not conform to the North Baffin Regional Land Use Plan. Ice-breaking would interrupt traditional over-ice hunting routes, the commission said.
Baffinland appealed to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada for an exemption, as permitted under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
"On July 14, 2015 the minister granted the exemption and forwarded the proposal to the NIRB for assessment," Barry said.
At this point, NIRB asked the company to justify its selection of truck transport of ore on a tote road to Milne Inlet instead of a rail option.
In February, Baffinland wrote a letter to the board stating it had explored alternatives and determined rail would be the best option.
An impact statement, already delayed from April, was to be submitted to the board this September.
However, the board was not certain whether this new rail proposal fell under the federal government's previous decision to bypass the Nunavut Planning Commission or whether it had to go back to the commission.
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, in arbitration with the company regarding $6.25 million in royalty payments from Baffinland, has been vocal. It says the rail to Milne Inlet is likely a significant change to the proposal.
In October, eight months after the board's query to the federal government, INAC minister Carolyn Bennett replied, saying it was up to the review board to make these decisions about the railway proposal.
"In terms of a timeline and process for the NIRB's determination of whether the change to the scope of the Phase 2 proposal is significant and warrants reconsideration by the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada minister, we recognize that this is an unprecedented situation and, as such, the NIRB and other regulators do not have an established approach for dealing with this issue," Barry said. |
"The Minister of INAC (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) did confirm that the predecessor's exemption stands. Hamlet council made it clear that we supported the project moving to the environmental assessment phase under NIRB, and we continue to believe this is," he wrote.
"(The) Hamlet of Pond Inlet will be far more affected by Phase 2 than any other communities. We also strongly believe that the best way to consider all the issues is to move to the (public) hearings process, particularly in our community."
Inuarak also says council is concerned that if the Phase 2 proposal is thrown back to the Nunavut Planning Commission, "this would put the project further behind."
The Mary River Project is located approximately 160 km south of Pond Inlet, with 84 Inuit employees from Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Hall Beach, Iglulik and Iqaluit.
Chairperson Elizabeth Copland acknowledged the hamlet's concerns Nov. 2.
"I can assure you, the residents of Pond Inlet and all of the parties involved in the NIRB's assessment that the board respects the interests of all parties in ensuring that the Phase 2 proposal progresses through Nunavut's regulatory system in an efficient and timely manner," Copland wrote.
However, Copland adds, it is the board's job to make a decision on whether the railway is a significant change or not, and whether or not it goes back to the planning commission to determine if it conforms to the North Baffin Regional Land Use Plan.
Changing market conditions, a federal override in the Nunavut regulatory process and ever-changing mine-plan proposals have led the Mary River Project down a confusing path since Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. first received its project certificate December 28, 2012.
On Oct. 28, the review board requested more information from the company about its Phase 2 proposal, which was first submitted in October 2014. The deadline for that submission was Nov. 18, but Baffinland requested an extension to Nov. 30.
"The current delay and uncertainty in the process has resulted from the unusual pathway taken for this proposal to come to the NIRB, combined with the change that Baffinland has made to its proposal while the NIRB's assessment is underway," NIRB executive director Ryan Barry told Nunavut News/North.
Meanwhile the company has no problem with the process so far.
"Baffinland acknowledges and agrees with the NIRB request for an update on the proposed expansion project," vice-president of sustainable development for the company Todd Burlingame told Nunavut News/North.
 | Largest undeveloped iron ore deposit in the world | 
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"The approval process was initiated over two years ago. In that time, Baffinland has survived extremely challenging economic and market conditions and has continued to invest in the Mary River project. As well, Baffinland has been able to successfully produce and ship iron ore to the global markets. The lessons learned over the past two years have provided Baffinland with the opportunity to refine the expansion proposal to increase efficiencies and reduce adverse effects."
Mary River is widely considered to be the largest undeveloped iron ore deposit in the world and the mine life is estimated at 20 years.
"Baffinland looks forward to providing the NIRB with the updated information and remains committed to growing the Mary River Project into a sustainable development that will benefit the residents of Nunavut for generations to come," said Burlingame.
As the project develops and become financially stable, it's possible Baffinland would be shipping ore from both Milne Inlet and Steensby Inlet.
"Our current understanding is that the rail component associated with Baffinland's Phase 2 Proposal, if approved, would be in place for the life of the Mary River Project and would potentially allow for shipping to occur in the north from Milne Inlet and from Steensby Inlet in the south concurrently. This would mean that the Phase 2 Proposal would significantly expand upon the originally approved Mary River project," said Barry.
"The permanence of this rail infrastructure, the associated impacts and the overall acceptability of the proposal would be the subject of the NIRB's assessment of the Phase 2 proposal."
Baffinland's proposed railway from Mary River to Milne Inlet has a preliminary estimated cost of under $1 billion, while the estimated cost for the construction of a railway to Steensby Inlet and a port is estimated at $5 billion.
Baffinland has been working to develop Mary River since 2005. The ore deposit was detected in the 1960s.
