Baker Lake (July 16/03) - Craig Goodings has a list of words. Words like frustrated, disappointed and confused.

They are adjectives he is associating with the progress of the Meadowbank Gold Project in Baker Lake.

Goodings is a consultant working with Cumberland Resources to get the mine up and running by 2006.

In order to make that happen, he said, they have to meet their April deadline and have all their permits in place.

The problem is they are already three months behind schedule while they wait for paperwork to filter down from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Goodings is unsure what is causing the hold-up. Correspondence he has received indicates that DFO and DIAND are still determining which of them will take the lead on the project.

"We had expected to have our terms of reference right now and to be working on draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement)," said Goodings.

But, he added, in the meantime the territory is letting a golden opportunity pass them by.

"There's a lot of gold up there. Every time we stick a hole in the ground we find more gold," said Goodings.

The Meadowbank project is projected to yield three million ounces of gold.

According to Goodings that translates into over $400 million of economic benefit, more than half of which he said stays in Nunavut.

As well the mine expects to employ between 175 and 230 people.

A large number of those employees Goodings hopes will be from the Kivalliq region.

"Right now there are kids in Grade 10 that see this mine going up and they stay in Grade 11 and Grade 12 because they can get into a training program," said Goodings.

"I find it very strange. They have this huge opportunity to help all these problems up there and now they have this solution. Why won't they get going on this."

So far Cumberland has spent nearly $30 million since 1996 developing the Meadowbank Project and Goodings said they are serious about working in Nunavut.

If the project gets off the ground Goodings said it would be a mid-tier development, which means recognition on a global scale.

"This could be like another Saudi Arabia with their mineral wealth," said Goodings.

But, he added, with three mine projects in the territory on hold waiting for proper approvals and bogged down in government bureaucracy he worries investors could be scared away.

Not to mention the board of directors for Cumberland may decide to redirect their efforts elsewhere.

"If we can't do this in a timely way -- and this is not a threat, it's a fact -- the investors will go somewhere else," said Goodings.

Joe Niego, mayor of Baker Lake, said it would be unfortunate to see the mine fail.

He said the development is getting good support from the community.

"Some youth are probably looking forward to it, there are fewer and fewer jobs. It's really hard to get jobs and that (the mine) would benefit the economy," said Niego.

"There are just a few people with questions," he added.

A majority of those questions just want to ensure that the developers protect the integrity of the local ecosystem.

Goodings said the project is putting a lot of emphasis on environmental protection.

As well, he added, the mine is located on what he describes as an area of low ecological value.

Goodings said he hopes someone will see the value and potential of this project and help him fight to get it into production.

"I need some champions to help us get this over the bumps.

"I want to appeal to those who have the power to make things happen in Nunavut," he said.

Stephanie Brisco, executive director of the Nunavut Impact Review Board, said the delay of the application is not unusual if it is in someway not complete.

If the application is complete she described the delay as unreasonable.

Goodings said he had never received word there was a problem with the application.