RANKIN INLET - Sheer Minerals was presented with the Thomas Kudloo Memorial Award for environmental excellence during a special presentation in Rankin Inlet this past week.

Sheer Minerals president and CEO Pamela Strand, left, accepts the Thomas Kudloo Memorial Award for environmental excellence from Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce president Ellie Cansfield in Rankin Inlet this past month. - photo courtesy of Denise Lockett

The Kivalliq Chamber of Commerce (KCC) award was presented to Sheer Minerals president and chief executive officer Pamela Strand by chamber president Ellie Cansfield, now in her third twoyear term as KCC president. Strand was in Rankin as part of a series of community meetings to discuss proposed exploration activities at the Chesterfield Inlet Diamond Project near Chester, as well as the Napajut diamond and gold exploration project near Arviat.

Cansfield said Sheer Minerals was submitted to the KCC for consideration for the environmental award.

She said the KCC's due diligence into the application showed the company to have great respect for the environment while carrying out exploration work.

"Sheer's balance of doing its work and respecting the environment while carrying out its duties was truly noteworthy," said Cansfield. "We discussed Sheer's performance with people associated with the company and who can observe it, including people in Chesterfield Inlet and some of the regulatory agencies.

"Everything we heard back was very positive.

"We discussed it internally, and felt Sheer Minerals, and Pam Strand in particular, were doing their job very well in respecting the environment and taking care of it to the best of their ability while doing exploration work."

Cansfield said exploration and development activity in the Kivalliq has the KCC feeling fairly optimistic. Development is at the whim of the international economy, she said, due to the fact development corporations have to raise funds on the international market to finance mine investments.

"We've seen the effect of a downturn in the international economy and the massive impact it has on the resource sector," the chamber president said. "But, we are reasonably optimistic things will proceed well in Nunavut.

"We're also very encouraged the Nunavut government is taking it seriously, and has opened a trades-training centre so the people of the Kivalliq will have access to better paying jobs at the mine sites.

"So, we're very happy everything seems to be coming together rather well at this point."

Cansfield said it's conceivable the Kivalliq could have three or four working mines in the near future. As optimistic as it is, she said, the KCC is still emphasizing the need for infrastructure development to support the development process and extend the lives of working mines.

"We are concerned about the use of non-renewable oil to heat and run the mines," said Cansfield. "We would really encourage a focus on a renewable resource such as hydroelectric power to be developed at the mines.

"What we're seeing in Florida today is an example of when things go wrong, they can go terribly wrong."