Tough Site, Tougher Rules Safety gets priority over everything!

When you hear about someone building a mine at a remote place like Canada’s Baffin Island, the last thing you think about is ‘security.’

After all, it is 3000 kms due north of Montreal and who’s going to steal anything from there? Furthermore, should they try, it wouldn’t be too hard to track their getaway because the only way in and out of the site is by plane and everyone up there is tuned into air traffic just the way Herve Villechaize (“Tattoo”) was on the television show “Fantasy Island.”

You know, “Look boss, da plane, da plane.”

Seriously though, the Mary River Project on Baffin Island is a major iron ore deposit being developed by Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation (TSX: BIM) of Toronto and because of the isolated, rugged site, they have made ‘security’ a top priority.

To them, ‘security’ is synonymous with ‘safety.’

As every miner knows, remote sites pose many challenges but none is greater than helping ensure that everyone working at the site is safe and that the site is safe too.

When the nearest hospital is 900 kms away and the only way to get there is by a plane (weather permitting) keeping workers safe and relatively injury free is a big job.

In fact, it’s such a big job that Baffinland has enhanced its own health and safety efforts by hiring a professional security firm to maintain and watch over the day-to-day activities on and around the site.

And, as mentioned earlier, it’s a harsh and unforgiving site when it comes to location but it’s also a big operation when it comes to production, machinery, and workers. There are almost 200 people at the Mary River site.

Based on proven and probable reserves of 365 million tonnes of iron ore (a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on Deposit No. 1 was completed in February, 2008), the DFS sees a mine life of more than 20 years for an operation producing 18 million tonnes of high grade (64.7% iron) ore per year.

The potential expansion of production is for about 30 million tonnes per year from all of Baffinland’s five properties. The company spent $87.5 million on an exploration program last year including a definitive feasibility study, engineering, health and safety project, environmental baseline and traditional knowledge studies, preparations for a bulk sampling program, metallurgical testing and transportation studies as well as 9338 m of drilling.

The drilling program was comprehensive and required six Boart Longyear drills. Geomechanical testing was conducted to help with pit modeling and design and geotechnical drilling provided information for the planning of the infrastructure, port sites, and a rail corridor.

Exploration drilling consisted of in-fill drilling on Deposit No. 1 and initial hole drilling elsewhere on the properties. While all of this was going on, equipment and suppliers continued to arrive and a Weatherhaven work camp was built in February 2008 as well as a bulk fuel storage facility was constructed to hold 8.25 million litres of fuel.

Increasing activity has also resulted in improvements to haulage roads and in particular to the airstrips where the surface, lighting and navigational aids have been upgraded to help ensure further safety to the all-important air link to the site. The airstrip is now capable of accommodating Boeing 737 jet aircraft.

As mentioned earlier, planes are a key part of the Mary River Project and one of the most valuable cargos they carry is the people they transport in and out of the site on a routine basis.

Like everything involving people, however, there are behavioural issues to be dealt with and as mentioned at the outset, educating people on the importance of safety is one of the first things that everyone arriving at the site is taught.

“Safety comes first” and that’s where Scarlet Security of Yellowknife comes in. Headed by President Patrick Doyle (a 10 year veteran of managing security operations), his company was hired by Baffinland to enforce a “zero tolerance” environment where everyone lives and breathes safety. The company maintains a presence at Mary River to help keep everything running smoothly.

Len Kutchaw, director of Human Resources and Health and Safety for Baffinland says the Mary River Project is no different than most remote mining sites where you get a real mix of people with different backgrounds, personalities, and outlooks towards work.

“Every mine I’ve ever worked at has people issues that need addressing especially when it comes to instilling the importance of safety into everyone’s minds. Not everyone who gets off a plane at Mary River thinks alike in terms of safety, but it’s something we insist on. There’s absolutely no room up here for not following the rules and that’s where Scarlet Security comes in.”

“Scarlet is a company that specializes in safety and security and its employees come totally equipped, especially in the area of northern security. They’re trained in dealing with matters involving people and potentially dangerous situations.”

A mine is a far cry from the ‘normal’ security duties but as Scarlet’s General Manager Richard Jalbert, a retired RCMP officer and now Project Manager for the Mary River job says, “We’re trained as ‘people watchers’ and can detect danger simply by their behaviour. You’ve heard the saying: “There’s an accident waiting to happen.” Well, we pick up on those accidents in the making and either step in and correct the situation on the spot by talking with the individual involved or in the case of a potential danger on a site; we bring that to management’s attention to have the problem fixed.”

“Simple things like walking and talking with a fellow worker while passing through a work zone can lead to accidents. Sectioning off a zone with barriers is easy but if people start taking short cuts and ignoring the warnings, bad things can happen, and that’s when we step in.”

Long before any worker gets to actually work at Mary River, Jalbert says “All people getting off the plane are searched for contraband before they are even allowed to go through orientation and anyone found with restricted items (drugs, alcohol, etc) are sent back. No questions asked, no answers given. Plain and simple. They’re heading south!”

Because the site is so remote, there is medical personnel on site but Jalbert says, “We’re still about 900 kms north of Iqaluit where the closest hospital is located. Just to put it into perspective, we are north of the Arctic Circle, between the 71st and 72nd parallel and the closest town to the project is Pond Inlet, approximately 160 kilometers away. We are very remote and safety is paramount.”

“In the event that someone gets seriously hurt, as previously stated, the closest hospital is a three-hour flight from camp. Due to the harsh conditions, flights are often postponed and/or cancelled, hence the safety concerns.”

Jalbert explained that everyone on site is on 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. They either work 0700-1900 hours or 1900-0700 hours. Some people are on three weeks in and one week out rotations, others are on two-and-two, four-and- two, or six-and-two.

“As already mentioned, there’s a ‘zero tolerance’ at the mine. Everyone’s luggage is searched upon arriving at the site and they are also searched when leaving as we’re looking for stolen property. We also have access to private dog handlers where we conduct periodic drug dog visits,” says Jalbert.

“We also conduct random room inspections looking for fire hazards and evidence of smoking in rooms as it is strictly prohibited. All rooms, offices, and other buildings are either built out of lumber or canvas so if one tent caught fire, the whole camp would go up in flames.”

In addition to on-site restrictions, workers are not allowed to walk outside the camp perimeters because polar bears and weather are a huge factor. There are also polar bear monitors working at the site twenty-four, seven.

Clearly the Mary River project has its challenges in terms of location and the surr
ounding environmental conditions but through the efforts of Baffinland’s own in-house Health and Safety department and the subsequent enforcement of the company’s rules and regulations by Scarlet Security, this is a safe site thanks to tight security.

Jalbert summed up by saying: “The location of the project and the harsh conditions make it very isolated and remote and therefore, loneliness can be a problem but the meals are excellent!