NUNAVUT BAFFINLAND IRON MINES of Toronto and the QIKIQTANI INUIT ASSN., QIKIQTAALUK CORP. and KAKIVAK ASSN. have signed an agreement to support a variety of training initiatives associated with the proposed Mary River project. Encouraging education and training for students, co-ordinating work placements, and reducing barriers to Inuit participation will be critical to the success of the agreement, said the company. Training initiatives already underway at Mary River include heavy equipment operator training, job-shadowing and cultural orientation seminars.
The Mary River iron ore is a direct-shipping ore, and full-scale operations on site will consist of open pit mining using conventional truck and shovel technology followed by just crushing and screening. No additional processing will be required, and no tailings generated. The ore will be transported by train to a port at Steensby Inlet, where it will be loaded year-round onto project-dedicated ice-strengthened ore carriers for shipment primarily to European steel makers. Staged startup of the 18-million-t/y operation is to begin in mid-2013 and reach commercial rates by Q3 2014.
See the May 2008 issue of CMJ for the full story.
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