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IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
When Newmont Mining Corp. stepped forward to sponsor the 2012 Kitikmeot Trade Show banquet and awards night, the gold-producing giant was going full steam ahead with its Hope Bay gold project.

Kitikmeot Trade Show delegates, including GN project officer Wilfrid MacDonald, front left, and Kitikmeot Corp. chair Wilf Wilcox, back right, react to the announcement that Newmont Mining Corp. has not added the Hope Bay project to its strategic plan for future gold production. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Newmont's announcement last month that the project was being shut down while the company conducts a strategic review of its global options was the elephant in the room at what was otherwise a successful event Tuesday evening.

Chris Hanks, vice president of environment for Hope Bay Mining Ltd., confirmed the region's fears, using his address to delegates to announce the project had not made the cut.

"Without a solid business case for our project, Hope Bay has not been added to the Newmont strategic plan for future gold production," Hanks said, after elaborating on the challenges faced at the project over the past four years and uncertainty over the geologic picture at Hope Bay.

Despite more than 230 km of core drilling since 2008, Newmont has failed to bring ounces of gold into reserve as known deposits at Hope Bay, due to the nature of its narrow gold deposits, Hank said.

As a result, the company has not been able to develop a positive pre-feasibility study or business case for its Hope Bay greenstone belt project, he added, although the company remains confident of the 10-million ounce potential of the belt.

Hanks also mentioned other challenges with the project, including the lack of infrastructure and expensive logistics of keeping 350 personnel fed, equipped and transported back and forth to

work in the Arctic.

Newmont has spent roughly $2 billion on the project so far, including the original $1.5 billion purchase price.

Hope Bay, just of one of 30-odd international projects in the Newmont pipeline, is now moving into long-term care and maintenance mode.

Kitikmeot Inuit Association president Charlie Evalik used his keynote address at the trade show to highlight other development activity happening in the region.

"Even with the slow-down in activity at HBML's Hope Bay project, there is still a lot of mineral development activity happening in the Kitikmeot region at properties operated by Xstrata, Elgin Mining, Sabina, North Country Gold, MMG and Shear," he said.

"We need to be ready as these projects come on line," he added, calling for improvements to training opportunities for Inuit who want to take part in the territory's emerging mining sector.

While disappointing, the announcement did not come as a surprise to many delegates at the show.

"We knew that announcement was coming," Kitikmeot Corporation chair Wilf Wilcox said. "And I guess our challenge now is to take the good the project has left behind and try and figure out a new path for that good, especially for the employees."

Last year, the project grew its Inuit workforce to an average of 142 per month, or around 21 per cent, Hanks said.

"It's been a good run," Wilcox said. "Maybe there will be more things to happen. Like (Hanks) said, there's a lot of gold there."

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