IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY - As it nears production, Newmont Mining Corporation's Hope Bay project is going to create more and more work for the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, which administers leases to companies operating on Inuit-own land.

Last week, Newmont announced it had signed a capacity agreement that will feed an unspecified amount of funding to the KIA to help it shoulder the increased workload that will come with Hope Bay's development into a gold-producing mine.

Alex Buchan, manager of community and external relations for Newmont, said the money will go to new hires and contracted aid.

"It's providing them the capacity to manage the paper work and the inspections and the reviews of our plans," he said.

It will be strictly arms-length funding, he added.

"We're not saying (how) we want the KIA lands department ... to respond to our proposal or our plans; (we're just) provide them the capacity to get a reasonable turnaround and respond effectively to what we're doing."

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