After four years of consultations and deliberations, the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) rejected Baffinland’s application to more than double output to 12 million tonnes a year, to eventually reach 30 million tonnes annually.
Unionized workers at the mine have asked the government to allow the expansion, which would be the only way to save the jobs of thousands, many of whom are Inuit employees.
“For a number of reasons, the regulatory process is moving more slowly than is necessary to meet Baffinland’s operational requirements,” chief executive Brian Penney said in an update to staff this week.
The company is preparing for two rounds of terminations to take effect on Sept. 25 and Oct. 11 if it is not successful in renewing its permit, he added.
The Local 793 Union says Mary River mine has long provided well-paying jobs to Canadian workers from across the country, including hundreds of workers from Nunavut who…
