After several uncertain months, Baffinland has received approval to continue producing and shipping iron ore at a limit of six million tonnes for 2022 at its Mary River mine. Dan Vandal, minister of Northern Affairs, permitted the company to continue operating at the same limit they have respected since 2018.

This decision will protect over 1,100 jobs, with over 300 of those positions being occupied by Inuit employees. Termination notices had been sent by the company to its employees working at the Nunavut-based iron mine back in July.

Baffinland was prepared to suspend its operations for the rest of the year if it was denied re-approval from the government. The company was granted renewed permission for one year in 2019 and for two years in 2020 from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) to exceed the originally permitted limit of 4.2 million tonnes.

The company completed their revised renewal application on May 30. On September 22, the NIRB recommend that Baffinland be granted the extension of its six million tonnes permit for 2022.

In a recent letter addressed to Kaviq Kaluraq, chair of the NIRB, Vandal wrote that the proposed renewal should be allowed to proceed, but with additions to the monitoring and reporting programs applicable to Mary River.

These additions include more detailed definitions of the Terrestrial Environmental Working Group and Marine Environment Working Group to provide guidance and oversight of the environmental impacts of the project. Additionally, there are new guidelines for ice breaking during shipping season, maintaining access routes for hunters and dust monitoring.

In the letter, Vandal went on to say that “the designated Inuit organizations, Inuit from impacted communities, and regulators have observed that better monitoring of compliance with project commitments would assist in improving the monitoring and adaptive management functions for the project.”

In order to achieve this goal, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) and Baffinland suggested the appointment of an independent third party to supervise general commitment implementation.

Vandal and other ministers are in support of this objective and have instructed relevant government officials to commence discussions about employing a third-party monitor for the project. Discussions between Baffinland, the QIA and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated are expected to take place by Nov. 30.

Baffinland is currently awaiting a decision from Vandal regarding their application for phase two of its Mary River expansion plan, which is expected to come in the following months.