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KITIKMEOT
International zinc producer MMG Ltd. is forging ahead with plans to build two base metal mines in Nunavut at its Izok Corridor project.

An aerial view of the Izok exploration camp and facilities, located about 280 km northwest of Kugluktuk. - photo courtesy MMG Ltd.

The company announced last week that its proposal for the zinc-copper Izok Corridor project, located within the Kitikmeot region, has been submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

MMG hopes to have production started at the Izok Corridor project -- comprised of the Izok and High Lake deposits -- started by late 2018 since global production of zinc is forecast to decline in coming years.

"We're very optimistic about this project and very excited about it," said Sahba Safavi, MMG project manager for Canada. "Again this is an important project for MMG because its objective is to ensure that we stay as a major producer of zinc in a global market, as we see the future of zinc as a declining resource, globally speaking."

MMG currently has five global mining operations including its Century Mine in Australia, known as the third-largest zinc producer in the world.

Century, which produces 500,000 tonnes annually, is among the major zinc operations reaching the end of their mine lives in the coming years, and the Izok Corridor is part of MMG's efforts to keep its zinc production levels high, Safavi said.

The Izok Lake exploration camp and facilities are located about 280 km northwest of Kugluktuk, about 10 km west of the Izok deposit.

Izok would be the main ore body resource for the corridor, where a milling facility concentrator is also proposed to be located.

According to the plan submitted to the environmental review board, concentrate produced at Izok will be put on trucks and will travel on a 350 km all-weather road as part of the project to a port facility.

Infrastructure demands for the project are currently being funded by the company.

"I think it's important to note that we're very much committed and responsible to sustainable development and our focus is heavy on the environment and also on relations with the communities," Safavi said. "So we are making a significant effort to make sure that we are communicating with the communities, consulting.

"This project will bring economical benefits to Nunavut, will create employment and we look forward to creating those opportunities for the North."

Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, called the project description "exciting," comparing it to the NWT diamond mines in terms of scope, jobs and spending potential.

He added that the news is especially good for the Kitikmeot region after Newmont Mining Corp. announced a halt to development of its Hope Bay gold project in the region earlier this year.

"Hope Bay was a sad bit of information there when they put it on care and maintenance and a lot of opportunity was lost," Hoefer said. "So this should create a lot of hope and opportunity for people in the region."

Lack of infrastructure in the North has deterred companies from developing projects such as the Izok Corridor in the past, Hoefer added, but rising commodity prices are increasingly attracting major resource companies back to attractive deposits in remote areas like Nunavut and the NWT.

An Izok Corridor pre-feasibility study was completed last year, and a feasibility study is currently underway. The budget for the feasibility study is $50 million.

Last month, MMG official changed its name to MMG Ltd., from Minmetals Resources, which is the name of the Chinese corporation that holds majority shares of MMG.

MMG is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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