Polaris mine
Encyclopedia
Polaris zinc mine was an underground zinc
mine
on Little Cornwallis Island
in the Canadian
territory
of Nunavut
(Northwest Territories
prior to Nunavut's official separation). The Polaris mine was located 1120 kilometres (695.9 mi) north of the Arctic Circle
, and 96 kilometres (59.7 mi) north of the community of Resolute
. The Polaris mine closed in July 2002 following more than twenty years of zinc production.
In 1964 Vancouver
-based Cominco optioned
all the mineral claims in Canada's Arctic
that were controlled by Bankaro Mines. Mineral and economic assessments resulted in a 23 million ton reserve at a zinc grade of 14.1%. Approval of the project was obtained in 1979, then Prime Minister
Joe Clark
waived environmental assessment hearings and pledged to ship half of the concentrate from the mine in the federally owned icebreaker
MV Arctic
. The entire mineral processing
plant, power plant and workshop were built upon a barge and traveled 5600 kilometres (3,479.7 mi) from Quebec
to the mine site. In 1981 the mine commenced production. The Polaris mine employed over 250 people. Although only 20 mine employees were from northern Canada, thirty percent of employment in Resolute was directly related to the mine.
procedures following the closure of the Polaris mine set a new standard for mine closure
in the territory of Nunavut. Reclamation of the mine site began while the mine was still operating, this work was planned to ensure it would not have an adverse affect on the mining operation (such as removal of unused buildings). Cominco intended to bury most of the buildings and materials in a nearby quarry
, with the permafrost
preventing contamination. Cominco offered the staff accommodations to the federal government
for use as a penal colony
on the island. Household items were offered to residents of nearby Inuit
communities. Cleanup of the Polaris mine site took two years, with environmental monitoring until 2011.
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
on Little Cornwallis Island
Little Cornwallis Island
Little Cornwallis Island is one of the Canadian Arctic islands in Nunavut, Canada. It is located at 75°30'N 96°30'W, between Cornwallis Island and Bathurst Island in McDougall Sound, and measures . It is uninhabited....
in the Canadian
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...
territory
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of 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...
(Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
prior to Nunavut's official separation). The Polaris mine was located 1120 kilometres (695.9 mi) north of the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
, and 96 kilometres (59.7 mi) north of the community of Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
. The Polaris mine closed in July 2002 following more than twenty years of zinc production.
History
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-based Cominco optioned
Option (finance)
In finance, an option is a derivative financial instrument that specifies a contract between two parties for a future transaction on an asset at a reference price. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in that transaction, while the seller incurs the...
all the mineral claims in Canada's Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
that were controlled by Bankaro Mines. Mineral and economic assessments resulted in a 23 million ton reserve at a zinc grade of 14.1%. Approval of the project was obtained in 1979, then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
waived environmental assessment hearings and pledged to ship half of the concentrate from the mine in the federally owned icebreaker
Icebreaker
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...
MV Arctic
MV Arctic
The MV Arctic is an icebreaking cargo ship built in 1978 at the Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The ship is owned and operated by the Fednav Group....
. The entire mineral processing
Mineral processing
In the field of extractive metallurgy, mineral processing, also known as mineral dressing or ore dressing, is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores.-History:...
plant, power plant and workshop were built upon a barge and traveled 5600 kilometres (3,479.7 mi) from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to the mine site. In 1981 the mine commenced production. The Polaris mine employed over 250 people. Although only 20 mine employees were from northern Canada, thirty percent of employment in Resolute was directly related to the mine.
Production
The Polaris mine produced over 21 million tonne of lead-zinc ore during the life of the mine, with a market value of over $15 billion. Concentrate from the mining operation was stored in a 700 feet (213.4 m) long warehouse, which was the largest structure in Nunavut.Closure
Initially the mine was scheduled to close in 2001, however due to improved mining techniques, the mine life was extended one year to 2002. ReclamationMine reclamation
Mine reclamation is the process of creating useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals, typically creating productive ecosystems from mined land...
procedures following the closure of the Polaris mine set a new standard for mine closure
Mine closure
Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significant negative impact on local economies...
in the territory of Nunavut. Reclamation of the mine site began while the mine was still operating, this work was planned to ensure it would not have an adverse affect on the mining operation (such as removal of unused buildings). Cominco intended to bury most of the buildings and materials in a nearby quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, with the 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...
preventing contamination. Cominco offered the staff accommodations to the federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
for use as a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
on the island. Household items were offered to residents of nearby 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...
communities. Cleanup of the Polaris mine site took two years, with environmental monitoring until 2011.