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BAFFIN ISLAND
The 184 recommendations attached to the Nunavut Impact Review Board's approval of the multi-billion dollar Mary River iron mine project on Baffin Island did not come entirely unexpected to proponent Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.

Greg Missal, vice president, corporate affairs of Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., takes questions at the Nunavut Impact Review Board final hearing for Baffinland's Mary River iron ore project, on July 16 in Iqaluit. - photo courtesy Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.

The Mary River Project -- which the review board decided on Sept. 14 should proceed -- includes plans for an open pit iron ore mine, a road, a railway and ports at Milne and Steensby Inlets to ship 18 million tonnes of iron ore a year to Europe.

The project is the first large base metal mine the board has reviewed, and it is unprecedented for the territory in its scale, said Ryan Barry, executive director of the review board.

The board considered the amount of rock taken out of the ground for base metal mines, the railway component, and the fleet of 10 capesize ore carriers, which are typically above 150,000 long tons, for year-round ice break shipping in its decision and list of recommendations for the project to proceed.

"That's really what the board's job is, to look at all the potential affects of the project and decide whether or not the positive outweighs the negative, and if the affects can be mitigated," Barry said.

Other indications of the scale of the project include the size of the board's hearing report, which spans 355 pages, compared to previous reports which have been more in the range of 150 pages, and the slew of recommendations, more than twice the amount of recommendations provided in previous mining project reports.

"It's a very significant and very substantial report and it reflects the size and scale of the project itself," Barry said.

More than 150 people spoke on the record at the final hearing, which took place last July in Iqaluit, Iglulik, and Pond Inlet, culminating in more than 3,000 transcript pages of verbal testimony.

The long list of recommendations did not come as a surprise to Baffinland, said Greg Missal, vice-president, corporate affairs, because many of the terms and conditions had come from things discussed during the more than four-year impact review process, and commitments made by the company during the process.

"Those are things that have been talked about and discussed," Missal said. "A lot of them are commitments that we've made along the Nunavut Impact Review Board process and so we weren't terribly surprised that there was 184 terms and conditions. We weren't terribly surprised with what they were either, but we're still looking at them. Obviously, it's a big document."

Key recommendations in the report include the establishment of working groups in relation to the marine and terrestrial environments, limits on the total number of ships travelling the shipping route during the open water season, and ensuring that the communities impacted by the project are consulted on an ongoing basis throughout the life of the project.

The decision and recommendations are now in the hands of the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, who has final say on whether the project will be approved.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), which is currently in discussions with Baffinland over an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement for the project, is eager to see Mary River approved following the long environmental impact review, which the association thanked the review board and its staff for conducting, in a Sept. 17 news release.

"It has been four years of hard work," stated QIA president Okalik Eegeesiak. "QIA has been an integral part of this process and we look forward to final project approval."

Colin Saunders, economic development officer in Pond Inlet, called the review board's decision "a milestone, and a real relief" as the communities prepare for the employment and business opportunities that will come with Mary River, including a required workforce of up to 4,000 people during the construction phase, and nearly 1,000 throughout the 21-year mine life at the first deposit.

"This project is going to have a very large economic impact on the region," Saunders said. "The employment opportunities are going to be there and we need to make sure the people take advantage of those opportunities."

There is no legislated time period for the minister to provide final approval for the mining project, but past review board decisions for projects smaller in scale -- such as the Jericho Diamond Mine, Meadowbank Gold Mine and Doris North Gold Mine -- have been responded to within a couple months, Barry said.

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