Baffinland Iron Mine
Encyclopedia
The Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, is working to develop a large open pit iron mine in the Mary River area of Baffin Island
, Nunavut
, Canada
.
But exploitation of the ore body waited for an increase in the price of ore.
According to the Railway Gazette the ore in this ore-body is sufficiently pure that it will not be necessary to conduct any processing before shipping it to market.
The Corporation expects to sell the ore in Europe at no less than $67 per tonne
for lump ore and $55 per tonne for fines.
The Corporation expects to produce 18 million tonnes per year for 20 years or more, and to pay down the cost of building the mine within the first 3 to 7 years.
In 2008 a 150,000 tonne sample was shipped to Europe for testing.
The ore was transported to Milne Inlet
, where it was carried by barges to a freighter waiting off-shore.
reported that due to the financial crisis of 2007 Baffinland needed to secure an emergency loan of 43.8 million Canadian dollars, in order to ship enough supplies for the workers on site—or they would not have been able to survive the winter.
According to The Age the emergency line of credit was necessary because the Baffinland management did not have the funds available to ship supplies to the 200 workers on site before shipping closed for the season, "after investing in commercial paper that borrowers couldn't repay." According to The Age 95 percent of Baffinland's funds had been invested in short term debts investment vehicles, of 364 days or less.
The sun sets on November 18 and does not rise again until January 23. But the Corporation is considering whether some portion of the sunless period will have sufficient hours of twilight to continue operations.
Two routes were considered.
Initially a 100 kilometre route to Milne Inlet
on Baffin Island's North Shore was preferred.
However a 149 kilometre route to Steensby Inlet
on the South Shore was chosen
because it is ice-free for a longer portion of the year.
Because Baffin Island's soil is permafrost
, the route was chosen so it lies on rock, gravel
, or large-grained sand as much as possible. Fine-grained sand and clay soils pose more of a heaving problem when the surface layer annually thaws and freezes.
The route will five multi-span bridges totalling 1400 metres in length.
Two tunnels 800 meters and 250 meters will be required. The tunnels will have to be lined and insulated to make sure waste heat from the trains doesn't melt the permafrost surrounding the tunnel.
The route detours around large areas of poorly drained glacial deposits and areas likely to contain deposits of fossil ice.
It is planned to use older carbon steel alloys for the rails, instead of more modern, higher performance alloys, because they can become brittle at very low temperatures.
The rails and bridges are designed for fifty years of active service.
The Railway Gazette reported in July 2008 that EMD SD70 and GE Dash-9 were candidates for the lines' locomotives. A personnel train would run several times per week.
freighter
s, each displacing 190,000 tonnes.
Baffinland plans to contract Fednav to manage its shipping.
When in full operation Baffinland plans to fill one freighter every two days.
The plan to have freighters operating year-round has stirred controversy, because of its potential impact sea mammals living on the winter ice-pack.
interviewed First Nations
people from the region in April 2008, about their concerns with the plans.
Jaypetee Palluq, an Igloolik resident who had been asked to serve on a Baffinland advisory committee, was concerned that the mine's operation would interfere with the traditional hunts for sea mammals, like Walrus
.
He called on Baffinland to "find an alternate shipping route to the mine, regardless of the cost."
Paul Quassa, Mayor of Igloolik, also expressed concern, over the effect of freighters on the ice used by the Walrus. He said the region was known for its highly prized aged, fermented walrus meat, a valuable export from the region.
In August 2008 the CBC reported that Baffinland acknowledged three fuel spills.
Baffinland's vice-president of sustainable development, Derek Chubb, asserted
that the three spills were contained within "secondary engineered containment facilities", and that there was no environmental damage.
5,000 litres of aviation fuel leaked from a fuel bladder at the mine's port facilities on Milne Inlet. The other two leaks of 200 litres, occurred near the mine site. Baffinland acknowledged that the leaks had been found months earlier, but had not been made public.
Michael Nadler, the regional director general of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs speculated that mine officials may not have felt an obligation to publicly report the leaks because they believed there had been no damage.
On September 22, 2008 100,000 litres of contaminated water was released in what officials described as "human error
".
.
Nunavut Tunngavik controls the resource exploitation of Inuit
owned lands.
The agreement allows Baffinland exploration and resource development rights to 17,000 hectares of Inuit-owned land adjacent to the mine-site.
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The ore body
Iron ore was first found in the Mary River area in 1962.But exploitation of the ore body waited for an increase in the price of ore.
According to the Railway Gazette the ore in this ore-body is sufficiently pure that it will not be necessary to conduct any processing before shipping it to market.
The Corporation expects to sell the ore in Europe at no less than $67 per tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
for lump ore and $55 per tonne for fines.
The Corporation expects to produce 18 million tonnes per year for 20 years or more, and to pay down the cost of building the mine within the first 3 to 7 years.
In 2008 a 150,000 tonne sample was shipped to Europe for testing.
The ore was transported to Milne Inlet
Milne Inlet
Milne Inlet is a body of water in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region.It flows in a southerly direction from Navy Board Inlet at the confluence of Eclipse Sound. Ragged Island is located at the inlet's opening, while Stephens Island is located further within....
, where it was carried by barges to a freighter waiting off-shore.
Finance
Australian newspaper The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
reported that due to the financial crisis of 2007 Baffinland needed to secure an emergency loan of 43.8 million Canadian dollars, in order to ship enough supplies for the workers on site—or they would not have been able to survive the winter.
According to The Age the emergency line of credit was necessary because the Baffinland management did not have the funds available to ship supplies to the 200 workers on site before shipping closed for the season, "after investing in commercial paper that borrowers couldn't repay." According to The Age 95 percent of Baffinland's funds had been invested in short term debts investment vehicles, of 364 days or less.
Proposed Take-Over
ArcelorMittal bid to buy Baffinland; Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Company subsequently made a hostile offer and increased it in December 2010. In March 2011, it was announced that ArcelorMittal had taken a 70% share, and Iron Ore Holdings the remaining 30%.Operation
The mine is planned to commence operations in 2014, staffed by a crew of 500.The sun sets on November 18 and does not rise again until January 23. But the Corporation is considering whether some portion of the sunless period will have sufficient hours of twilight to continue operations.
Railway
The Corporation plans to construct a railroad line to transport the ore to a port for transhipment.Two routes were considered.
Initially a 100 kilometre route to Milne Inlet
Milne Inlet
Milne Inlet is a body of water in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region.It flows in a southerly direction from Navy Board Inlet at the confluence of Eclipse Sound. Ragged Island is located at the inlet's opening, while Stephens Island is located further within....
on Baffin Island's North Shore was preferred.
However a 149 kilometre route to Steensby Inlet
Steensby Inlet
Steensby Inlet is a waterway in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region. It extends northerly from Foxe Basin into central Baffin Island. There are several un-named islands within the inlet, and Koch Island lies outside of it...
on the South Shore was chosen
because it is ice-free for a longer portion of the year.
Railbed
Construction of the rail line is planned to begin in 2012.Because Baffin Island's soil is permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
, the route was chosen so it lies on rock, gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
, or large-grained sand as much as possible. Fine-grained sand and clay soils pose more of a heaving problem when the surface layer annually thaws and freezes.
The route will five multi-span bridges totalling 1400 metres in length.
Two tunnels 800 meters and 250 meters will be required. The tunnels will have to be lined and insulated to make sure waste heat from the trains doesn't melt the permafrost surrounding the tunnel.
The route detours around large areas of poorly drained glacial deposits and areas likely to contain deposits of fossil ice.
It is planned to use older carbon steel alloys for the rails, instead of more modern, higher performance alloys, because they can become brittle at very low temperatures.
The rails and bridges are designed for fifty years of active service.
Rolling stock
The corporation plans to purchase three train sets, each containing 64 hopper cars, which will each make two round trips per day.The Railway Gazette reported in July 2008 that EMD SD70 and GE Dash-9 were candidates for the lines' locomotives. A personnel train would run several times per week.
Nine icebreaking freighters
According to the CBC Baffinland plans to employ nine icebreakingIcebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s, each displacing 190,000 tonnes.
Baffinland plans to contract Fednav to manage its shipping.
When in full operation Baffinland plans to fill one freighter every two days.
The plan to have freighters operating year-round has stirred controversy, because of its potential impact sea mammals living on the winter ice-pack.
Environmental concerns
The Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
interviewed First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people from the region in April 2008, about their concerns with the plans.
Jaypetee Palluq, an Igloolik resident who had been asked to serve on a Baffinland advisory committee, was concerned that the mine's operation would interfere with the traditional hunts for sea mammals, like Walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
.
He called on Baffinland to "find an alternate shipping route to the mine, regardless of the cost."
Paul Quassa, Mayor of Igloolik, also expressed concern, over the effect of freighters on the ice used by the Walrus. He said the region was known for its highly prized aged, fermented walrus meat, a valuable export from the region.
In August 2008 the CBC reported that Baffinland acknowledged three fuel spills.
Baffinland's vice-president of sustainable development, Derek Chubb, asserted
that the three spills were contained within "secondary engineered containment facilities", and that there was no environmental damage.
5,000 litres of aviation fuel leaked from a fuel bladder at the mine's port facilities on Milne Inlet. The other two leaks of 200 litres, occurred near the mine site. Baffinland acknowledged that the leaks had been found months earlier, but had not been made public.
Michael Nadler, the regional director general of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs speculated that mine officials may not have felt an obligation to publicly report the leaks because they believed there had been no damage.
On September 22, 2008 100,000 litres of contaminated water was released in what officials described as "human error
Human Error
Human Error is the stage name of Rafał Kuczynski , a polish electronic musician, working mostly in the ambient music genre, produced only with a computer...
".
Future expansion
The Corporation has signed a joint venture agreement with Nunavut Tunngavik IncorporatedNunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated is the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut for the purposes of native treaty rights and treaty negotiation and one of the four regional members that make up the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami...
.
Nunavut Tunngavik controls the resource exploitation of Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
owned lands.
The agreement allows Baffinland exploration and resource development rights to 17,000 hectares of Inuit-owned land adjacent to the mine-site.