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Executive vicepresident of operations for ATCO Structures & Logistics George Lidgett shakes hands with Sakku Investments Corp. chairperson George Kuksuk after signing a jointventure agreement in Vancouver, B.C., this past month as ATCO executive Boris Rassin, far left, and Sakku president Patrick Tagoona look on. - photo courtesy of Dan Toth

KIVALLIQ/VANCOUVER
Sakku Investments Corp. has entered into a joint-venture agreement aimed at creating longterm business and employment opportunities for Inuit.

Sakku inked the deal with ATCO Structures & Logistics during the Mineral Exploration Round-up in Vancouver, B.C., this past month.

The partners have created a new company, Sakku ATCO Buildings & Services, to pursue resource development activities and infrastructure construction in the Kivalliq.

ATCO executive vicepresident of business development Boris Rassin described the partnership as a tremendous opportunity for both companies.

Rassin said the two companies will offer economical infrastructure solutions to companies developing the North. Rassin said ATCO is involved in many things, with one of its primary business lines being the building and operating of workforce camps.

He said ATCO does camps for oil and gas, mining and exploration companies around the world, as well as the military.

"The Kivalliq already has one Agnico-Eagle mine and it's expected to have a fair bit more mining activity in the future," said Rassin.

"We expect to see about five working mines in the region that will require hundreds, if not thousands, of people to build and operate them.

"All those people need to live somewhere, be fed, transported and even have their laundry done.

"We chose Sakku as a partner because the Kivalliq is its territory and it should benefit from the process."

Rassin said operating the camps will provide quite a bit of employment for Inuit.

He said while Sakku has the preferential position, there will be more people required and many Inuit will eventually benefit.

"We'll provide training and technology and they'll benefit financially and from employment.

"We've been working on this agreement for about a year to ensure everyone's expectations are clearly stated."

Rassin said mining projects will go forward sooner or later.

He said in the meantime, ATCO will be bidding on and, hopefully, building smaller infrastructure projects.

"We're also involved in modular construction of commercial buildings and housing.

"It's a lot easier to build in the North by bringing high-quality prefabricated parts than building from scratch.

"So, we're pursuing smaller infrastructure projects with Sakku across the North to be involved with while waiting for the big projects to come."

Rassin said the world needs more resources and they're getting harder to find.

He said Northern Canada is not the easiest place in the world to produce, but it is fairly predictable compared to other parts of the world.

"We service mines in the mountains of Chile, as well as Australia and Peru, so we're looking at the geo-political situation around the world, and the North is in a fabulous position to have a real interest from global mining companies," Rassin said.

"That gives us some measure of confidence and we want to be in this marketplace.

"We're committed to having a strong corporate presence from, not just our company, but also ATCO Power, Electric and other parts of the conglomerate."

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