People remain suspicious of resource extraction even though more regulations are in place, says company director
Remains of an old nickel mine are still visible in Rankin Inlet. The mine operated from 1957 to 1962. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
NationTalk: Nunatsiaq News – Many Nunavummiut have misconceptions about mining, says Pujjuut Kusugak.
Kusugak is the director of Nunavut affairs for Agnico Eagle, which operates multiple gold mines in Nunavut.
“People still remember how mines used to operate — Wild West do whatever you want, no safety concerns,” he said in an interview with Nunatsiaq News at the Agnico Eagle office in Rankin Inlet.
People assume that the company still “does whatever it wants,” he added, but today Nunavut has some of the strictest regulations that protect the environment using both territorial and federal laws.
Meliadine mine would have been “shut down” very quickly if it was operating the same way mines used to operate, Kusugak said.
Nunatsiaq News visited the Meliadine gold mine on Oct. 2 to learn about the impact the mine — which started operations in June 2019 and is expected to have produced two million ounces of gold in November — has on the economy, society and environment of Nunavut.
Generational memory
Employees from the underground North Rankin Nickel mine at Rankin Inlet photographed in an undated photo. The mine operated from 1957 to 1962, drawing many Inuit from around the region to settle in the community. (Photo courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/Kryn Taconis)
Meliadine mine is located 25 kilometres north of Rankin Inlet and is one of the three sites Agnico Eagle operates in Nunavut, along with the nearby Meadowbank complex and a gold exploration project Hope Bay, which is 125 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay.
The company also operates mines in northern Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, Finland and Australia.
But Meliadine is not Rankin Inlet’s first mine. The town site itself was founded decades ago by the owners of North Rankin Nickel Mine Ltd.
In 1957, many Inuit moved to the newly formed hamlet to work at the nickel and copper mine, which produced ore until 1962.
Its workers received smaller salaries than the national average, infant mortality in the community reached 40 per cent and the aftermath of the mine’s environmental damage is still felt today, according to research by Frank Tester, writer and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia.
Tester made his research into a documentary which was released in 2016.
“We still have people alive that worked at the old nickel mine,” Kusugak said, adding that memories shared by these workers still contribute to public’s suspicion of mining.
Golden time of gold
Today, mining is the largest private contributor to Nunavut’s economy, according to a 2023 reportby the Mining Association of Canada.
In 2021, mining was responsible for 38 per cent of Nunavut’s GDP with a total contribution of $3 billion in all three Canadian territories.
And Agnico Eagle’s Nunavut operations represent close to 25 per cent of its US$377.5 million quarterly net income, the company announced in a quarterly report published in April.
At the same time, the price of gold has been growing at a record-breaking speed, said Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, a professor in the mining engineering department at McGill University.
“When the markets are not stable, when we have wars and problems, people are looking into gold as a stable investment,” Dimitrakopoulos said.
Over the past 12 months the price of an ounce of gold in Canada has increased from $2,593 to $3,760, according to TD Bank. That’s an increase of 45 per cent.
Inuit employees
Inuit employees gather at the country food kitchen at the Meliadine mine on Oct. 2. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Mining is also the largest private employer of Indigenous people in Canada, according to the mining association’s report.
Currently, Meliadine mine has approximately 1,500 employees, of which 15 to 20 per cent are Inuit.
As per an agreement with the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Agnico Eagle vows to reach 50 per cent Inuit employment through training programs, but there is no timeline for the goal.
Caribou migration
In 2022, Agnico Eagle submitted a proposal to extend the life of Meliadine by 11 years, to 2043. But the Nunavut Impact Review Board recommended against the extension in 2023, expressing environmental concerns, including potential harm to caribou migration.
When asked, Kusugak didn’t say whether he believes those concerns are legitimate or not.
“We have to respect everybody’s opinion,” Kusugak said. “We work with people to make sure that those impacts are minimal.”
Whenever there is a certain number of caribou spotted near the site, all on-the-ground operations of the mine have to shut down. Meliadine has had days when nothing would happen because of caribou on or near the site, Kusugak said.
He didn’t say whether Agnico Eagle is planning to make another application to extend the life of the mine.
“We have to review and look at our plans and see where we’re going to go from here. That’s pretty much as far as I can go with that.”