February 21, 2013.  CBC News.  Drilling crews are setting up camp this week at Hackett River south of Bathurst Inlet. They're looking for new deposits of zinc and other metals. They're planning to use five diamond drills through to October in the ongoing hunt for zinc, lead and copper concentrate, which may contain silver and gold. Xstrata Zinc Canada recently bought the Hackett property from Sabina Silver and the two companies are working jointly to revive the Bathurst port and road project, a key part of the Hackett River mine project. .....

Feb. 4, 2013.  CBC News. The owners of Nunavut's first and only diamond mine are nowhere to be found.  Shear Diamonds bought the Jericho mine site in 2010 after the previous owners went bankrupt. The company hoped to re-open the mine, but ended up putting the site under what it called "temporary closure". It happened quickly last summer, on Labour Day weekend, when Shear realized it was in financial trouble. Within 48 hours, Shear had done some basic clean-up at the Jericho site, and all its staff members were flown out. Regulators found out about it a few days later. A federal inspection of the site then found some things left undone. Hazardous waste wasn't stored properly and there was evidence of fuel spills not cleaned up......... Calls and emails from CBC News have also gone unanswered, the company's website is gone, and now it's not even possible to leave the company a message on the phone. The Jericho Mine, which is located 350 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay, is Canada’s third and Nunavut’s first diamond mine.

Jan 21, 2013 CBC News.  Levon Sevunts. Canada's Leona Aglukkaq spoke at Arctic Frontiers conference in Trømso, Norway, on Monday.  The overarching theme of Canada’s upcoming chairmanship of the Arctic Council will be the promotion of economic development of northern regions, says the Canadian minister responsible for the Council. Speaking on Monday at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Trømso, in northern Norway, Leona Aglukkaq said Canada will focus on sustainable economic development of the Arctic. “With the help of our Arctic Council partners, we will focus on creating economic growth, strong and sustainable northern communities and healthy ecosystems,” said Aglukkaq, addressing the conference entitled ‘Arctic Frontiers: Geopolitics & Marine Production in a Changing Arctic.’. Canada is expected to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Sweden in May.  But the Conservative government’s priorities for the circumpolar body have come under fire from the opposition.....

January 14, 2013.  CBC News | North.  Some people in the Baffin region are wondering what will happen now that Baffinland Iron Mines announced a change of plans for its Mary River mine in Nunavut. Last week, the company said it wants to scale back output by about 80 per cent for the first three years. "It was a little bit of a surprise," said Colin Saunders, the economic development officer for Pond Inlet, Nunavut.  Saunders said Baffinland has already provided jobs, contracts and opportunities for people in the community and is still the biggest thing likely to happen in the region in his lifetime......

January 11, 2013.  CBC News.  Baffinland Iron Mines is now proposing a phased approach to its plans for the Mary River mine, saying the project has become difficult to finance in the current global market. The company sent a letter to Nunavut regulators Thursday outlining its revised plans. They include putting off the construction of the port at Steensby Inlet, and the railway connecting the mine to the port.....

Jan 7, 2013  CBC News. Government, environmentalists worry contaminants could leach from old tailings pond.  A request for a water license at the old Whitehorse Copper mine is raising concerns about drinking water in the city. Eagle Industrial Minerals wants to use water to mine the tailings at the site. The Yukon Conservation Society’s mining coordinator, Lewis Rifkind, says disturbing the tailings could release contaminants......

January 7, 2013.  CBC News by Margo McDiarmid, Environment Unit.  A new study released today suggests chemicals from 50 years of oilsands production are showing up in increasing amounts in lakes in northern Alberta. And the effects are being felt much farther away than previously thought. The joint study between scientists at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and Environment Canada looked at core samples from five lakes close to the oilsands mining and upgrading operations in Fort McMurray, Alta. They also studied samples from Namur Lake, 90 kilometres northwest. The authors focused on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. These are cancer-causing chemicals that are released when things are burned. They can occur naturally — from forest fires, volcanic activity and geological deposits — but burning petroleum in the production of the oilsands leaves a particular fingerprint, so the scientists were able to trace where the PAHs in the core samples came from.......

Dec. 18, 2012.  CBC News.  TMAC Resources has until March 31 to finalize the deal.  Newmont Mining Corporation has taken steps to sell its Hope Bay Gold property near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Newmont is one of the largest gold producers in the world. In February, the company surprised many in Nunavut when it announced it was walking away from Hope Bay. The company had constructed roads and camps on site, and even began work on underground tunnels. Now, Newmont officials say they have signed a letter of intent with a privately held company — TMAC Resources. In a release, Newmont said a number of conditions must be met before the sale is finalized. This includes financing, regulatory and third-party approval. The potential deal will expire on March 31, 2013, if it is not finalized before then.

Dec. 18, 2012.  CBC News.  All 3 diamond mines are well below 60% target.  The Northwest Territories' three diamond mines are not meeting the hiring targets they agreed to. The targets are set out in the socio-economic agreements between the mines and the territorial government. When diamond mining was just starting up in the N.W.T .16 years ago, then Minister of Resources Stephen Kakfwi talked about the agreement for BHP Billiton’s Ekati mine. "What this socio-economic agreement does is, amongst other things, is make very clear commitments on the level of employment for northern and aboriginal people," said Kakfwi in 1996. Last year, almost half of DeBeers’ unskilled and semi-skilled workforce at the Snap Lake mine came from outside the territory. Northerners only made up 37 per cent of the mine’s workforce — much less than the 60 per cent target. The territory’s two other diamond mines have also fallen short of their hiring targets. The mines also made a commitment not to fly in workers from outside the territory. At least some are not living up to that commitment.....Read more

December 3, 2012  CBC News.  Aboriginal Affairs approves massive open-pit mine.  The federal government has given Baffinland’s Mary River Project the green light to move ahead with its iron ore mine on north Baffin Island. Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation proposed the Mary River project, which would be a massive open-pit mine about 160 kilometres south of Pond Inlet. A press release from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada says the approval is based on the recommendation of the Nunavut Impact Review Board. The board’s executive director, Ryan Barry, says it’s a big day for the territory. "We do feel it's certainly a milestone for our organization, as this is a very big and important file for Nunavut," he said. The review board will issue a formal project certificate within about 30 days, which will establish the basis for its future monitoring of the project. Baffinland will also begin the licensing process with the Nunavut Water Board and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In addition, the company will work to complete its Inuit Impacts and Benefits Agreement with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. A spokesperson for Baffinland says it's difficult to predict when construction of the mine will get underway. Residents of Nunavut have been divided over the project. Some people welcome the potential wealth they could gain from the mine, while others are wary about its potential impacts. The project involves the construction of a road, a railway and a deep-water port and mine site infrastructure. The 17,000-hectare mine will cost about $4 billion to build.

November 29, 2012  CBC News.   Commission creating map to guide all future development in territory. The Nunavut Planning Commission has begun to tackle the massive task of creating a single map to guide all future development in the territory. The task is daunting — Nunavut is more than two million square kilometres in size. It's home to huge deposits of gold, diamonds, metals, oil and gas. It's also where people have lived and hunted for generations. Paul Quassa, chairman of the Nunavut Planning Commission, says he hopes the plan will be ready to use in the next three years. (CBC). Now all of that has to go on a single map, which will be colour-coded so everyone knows which activities are allowed to take place, and in which parts of the territory. In Iqaluit on Thursday, a group of elders took a close look at the map and shared their knowledge of Frobisher Bay. "We're really trying to think ahead for our future land use. People need to take this seriously and accept what we say," said Jeetaloo Kakki. Consultations like these will take place in every Nunavut community, and even some in Nunavik in northern Quebec.  This is on top of more than 400 interviews which have been done over many years.  The reason for all the consultations and interviews is because even though there's a draft plan, more knowledge is needed for the final version............

November 30, 2012,  Nunatsiaq News  Companies spent an estimated $109 million less than in 2011.  Natural Resources Canada’s survey of mineral exploration companies forecasts 2012 northern exploration expenditures dropping in Nunavut and Yukon and rising in the Northwest Territories. And in Nunavut the survey shows companies spending $109.2 million less in 2012 than in 2011. That figure could partially represent some of the financial loss from the decision of Newmont Mining Corp. to place its Hope Bay mine near Cambridge Bay into “care and maintenance.” Natural Resources Canada’s latest semi‐annual report exploration expenditures, show:

• • $93.8 million in the NWT;
• • $535.7 million in Nunavut; and,
• • $331.7 million in Yukon.

The survey also provides companies’ spending for 2012 at:

• • $135.5 million in the NWT;
• • $426.5 million in Nunavut, a decrease of $109.2 million (20 per cent) from the previous year; and;
• • $291.7 million in Yukon.

“While NRCan provides no details to explain their survey results, we can say that the good news is that mining projects in both the NWT and Nunavut continue to advance through the approvals processes,” said Cathie Bolstad, president of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, in a recent news release. “Nunavut reached record investment levels last year due to its many large advanced projects and investment is still very robust. In fact, additional new projects have now entered the approvals stage.”.........

October 29, 2012. Yukon News. By Jacqueline Ronson. The First Nations involved with the Peel planning process are ready for a legal battle if the Yukon government does not live up to its treaty obligations. “We’ve still got our guns loaded and ready to go,” said Chief Simon Mervyn of the First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun and spokesperson for the affected First Nations. “All somebody has to do is pull the trigger.” The government’s announcement last week of proposed modifications to the recommended Peel plan came as no surprise to Yukon’s northern chiefs, he said. “Their lackadaisical attitude for the past six, seven years in regards to the commission’s work is quite apparent.” In July of 2011, the Peel Watershed Planning Commission put forward its final recommended plan, which would see 55 per cent of the watershed permanently protected from road construction, and a further 25 per cent protected in the interim, but subject to review every 10 years. Existing mineral claims in those areas could be developed by air access only. Last week the government presented its own ideas about what development could look like for the Peel region. In its plans, the entire watershed would be potentially open to new road construction. Critics have said that the government had its chance to request specific modifications to the plan throughout the process, and must now go forward with consultation on the recommended plan, not its own vision...

October 5, 2012. Nunatsiaq News. Greenland’s Bureau of Mining and Petroleum is skating on thin ice in its eagerness to attract investors to the mining industry, warns Aqqaluk Lynge, the president of Greenland’s Inuit Circumpolar Council and its international chairman. The process has gone into overdrive and may turn out to “a bomb under the young self-governing Greenland,” Lynge told Greenland’s Sermitsiaq AG this week. Lynge said he wants to see more informed input in the debate over mining development as well as more consultation on the various large-scale projects in the mining sector in Greenland. “The inspiration is the Canadian model,” Lynge told Nunatsiaq Newsabout his call for more rigorous environmental reviews. “Independent environmental impact assessments and studies of the socio-economic aspects are very important. As we see it here, we are not even considered rights-holders, but merely as stakeholders. This is, of course, not acceptable.” So ICC-Greenland has hired two biologists and a socio-economic expert to provide independent impact assessments on the large Isua iron mine project, with backing form the World Wildlife Fund and a human rights foundation, the Oak Foundation. By 2015, the U.K.-based London Mining Inc. wants to see the Isua mine, which hugs Greenland’s ice sheet about 150 kilometres northeast of Nuuk, in operation...

September 29, 2012.  CBCNews| North. Elizabeth McMillan. Taxpayers still may end up with massive bills like Giant Mine in future, says MiningWatch. When Royal Oak Mines went bankrupt more than a decade ago, it left behind a toxic legacy that Canadian taxpayers are still paying to clean up. The federal government had to take responsibility for two of the company’s gold mines in the Northwest Territories — Giant Mine in Yellowknife and Colomac, located about 220 km northwest of the capital. Giant is one of the most contaminated sites in Canadian history and it will be one of the most expensive to clean up. The company's costly wake leaves some wondering whether enough has changed to prevent taxpayers from getting similar bills in the future. MiningWatch Canada said recent examples such as Jericho diamond mine in Nunavut show money set aside by mines for clean up isn't always adequate.“One thing that has happened time and time again is that there are surprises and cost overruns at the time of closure," said Ramsey Hart, MiningWatch’s Canadian program co-ordinator. "Certainly we'd like to see some contingency funds set aside for unanticipated events.”Government dodged Jericho clean-up, says MiningWatch. Hart said the federal government got lucky when new owners bought Jericho mine when Tahera Diamond went bankrupt in 2008.....

September 27, 2012. Nunatsiaq News. CAMBRIDGE BAY — The Nunavut Resources Corp., the first Inuit-owned mining development company, has received a commitment for $1 million from the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. And, with its partner HTX Minerals Corp., the NRC plans to start mineral exploration activity, a Sept. 26 news release said. “The seed funding from KIA demonstrates Inuit commitment to taking a leadership role in resource development,” said Charlie Evalik, the chairman of the NRC and president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.] The NRC will now seek to raise a minimum of $18 million for exploration within the Kitkmeot region. The money, which will be administered by NRC Exploration Ltd., the exploration arm of NRC, will be primarily used for 2012-2013 mineral project generation and exploration in the 447,000 square kilometres in western Nunavut...

September 19, 2012. Yukon News. By Meagan Gillmore. Jessica Ernst can’t say what she hopes will happen after her presentation on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday night. “Fracking killed hope,” she said. “I don’t have any hope any more - in anything. From what I’ve uncovered, and what I’ve seen, they’ve killed all hope in me.” Ernst will present information on the controversial mining method as well as share her story of living in a fracked area. Her visit coincides with Global Anti-Fracking Day, and follows shortly after the deadline for public comments on Northern Cross’ Eagle Plains project. The company has included fracking in its proposal for two oil and gas wells off the Dempster Highway. Ernst has warned about the dangers of fracking for years. While her efforts have garnered her much praise - the United Nations gave her a “Woman of Courage” award in 2011 - it has also cost her almost everything she has. In 1998, Ernst moved to Wheatland County, outside of Rosebud, Alta., not far from Drumheller. It’s a tiny hamlet of less than 100 people, surrounded mainly by grain farms. Many of the residents are children, said Ernst. There’s a little arts and theatre school in Rosebud. Ernst bought a house there because of the area’s beauty. But now, because of the work of oil corporation EnCana, she will likely have to sell her home. Ernst is suing Encana, the Energy Resources Conservation Board in Alberta and the province’s government. She alleges that the company has polluted rural water wells, including her own. In the early 2000s, EnCana began drilling for coal-bed methane throughout central Alberta. They drilled over 200 wells near base water. This was done “all in secret,” Ernst said...

September 4, 2012. Nunatsiaq News. Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region may soon become home to a major mining project — not the once promising Hope Bay gold mineproject near Cambridge Bay — but two major zinc and copper mines. The Chinese-controlled Mineral and Metals Group announced Sept. 4 that it plans to submit its Izok Corridor Project proposal to the Nunavut Impact Review Board and other authorizing agencies to start the environmental assessment and regulatory review process. MMG’s project includes the rich zinc and copper deposits located near Izok Lake and High Lake in western Nunavut. “We have already started to inform and engage communities in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut and will complete another full year of environmental baseline data collection,” said Michael Nossal, MMG’s executive general manager of business development. “The Izok Corridor Project is expected to provide a number of economic benefits to Nunavut, including the creation of employment, business opportunities, skills development and the payment of taxes to the federal, territorial and Inuit governments"...

September 20, 2012.  Nunatsiaq News. by Samantha Dawson. New project will try to "give people a choice of tools that will help". A new circumpolar project wants to better manage resource development so it benefits communities. Throughout the North, but especially in northern Canada, resource development has often proven to be devastating for Arctic peoples and communities. Take Yukon’s gold rush, which saw 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region between 1897 and 1899 to prospect for gold. That influx of people that caused devastating effects on the indigenous peoples, said Chris Southcott of Lakehead University during a Sept. 19 presentation at the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit. Soutcott spoke about a project called RESDA, short for “Resources and Sustainable Development of Resources in the Arctic.” The project will try to provide communities with information so they can avoid the kinds of problems caused by the gold rush or by the whaling industry based on Hershel Island in the beginning of the 20th century......