RANKIN INLET
Robert Connelly of Rankin Inlet returned from the 2013 Nunavut Mining Symposium (NMS) in Iqaluit with a prestigious award earlier this month.
Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq, left, and Veronica Tattuinee help Robert Connelly celebrate being named the 2013 winner of the Mike Hine award during the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit in April of 2013. - photo courtesy Robert Connelly |
Connelly was named the 2013 winner of the Mike Hine Award at the gathering.
The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the mining industry in Nunavut.
Connelly said the award is a tremendous honour.
He said he had no idea he was even in the running to win the award.
"Winning this was a complete and total surprise," said Connelly.
"I'm still speechless over the whole thing.
"I've been getting a lot of e-mails and phone calls, but it's still hard to believe.
"It's especially important to me because I knew Mike Hine very well, having been on the organizing committee for the NMS for several years together before he passed away."
There were 518 registered delegates at this year's NMS, making it the largest one to date.
Connelly's involved with the mining industry on a number of different levels.
He's been with the NMS organizing committee since the original Nunavut symposium was held in Rankin in 1996.
"As manager of community economic development for Economic Development and Transportation, I help deliver a variety of programs many small businesses and entrepreneurs access," said Connelly.
"It allows them to develop a new business, or expand an existing one, to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in the sector.
"Whether they're service providers, goods suppliers or small businesses within the region, we help them be part of the opportunities out there."
Connelly said training and education remain key, because it's important to build capacity within the region's labour force to meet the job requirements of the sector.
He said many of the jobs require certification, trades training or other types of specific training.
"There's a lot of really good things going on, but there's also a lot more we need to do.
"Just as important is the need for infrastructure to support general economic development in Nunavut, not just in mining and exploration.
"We need marine facilities, roads, expanded airports, fuel storage and power-generation capacity.
"They're all very important to support mining and exploration, as well as communities in general."
Connelly said Agnico-Eagle has been making significant efforts to communicate everything it's doing with the Meliadine gold project near Rankin.
He said the company has done an outstanding job of ensuring everyone is aware of employment and contracting opportunities that exist.
"There's a lot of dialogue happening on where the Government of Nunavut is being asked to invest, where the hamlet needs to invest, and where training institutions and educational facilities need to invest their efforts.
"There were a lot of lessons learned from Meadowbank that are being carried forward now.
"That's very encouraging."
