Mary River Project
Iron-Ore Mine

Mackenzie Valley Pipeline
Natural Gas Development

Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project
Transportation Hub

References

Located on Baffin Island – the largest of the Canadian Arctic islands – resides vast deposits of iron-ore – a key component in the production of steel.  A publicly-listed TSX junior-mining company, Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, holds the mining rights to four deposits in the Mary River area – approximately 160-km south of Pond Inlet.  Originally discovered in the early 1960s, the iron-ore deposits are direct-shipping quality – limited processing is required, aside from crushing and screening the mineral.  Minimal requirements to refine the iron-ore offset the remote location of the proposed open-pit mining concept.

Runway and exploration camp at Mary River
Photo Credit:Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation

The Mary River Project has a proposed operating lifespan of at least 25 years.  The project itself is multi-dimensional in terms of mining, processing and shipping the iron-ore to its primary markets in Europe.  Conventional open-pit mining and extraction techniques will remove the initial iron-ore.  After being separated into either Lump, Sinter and Feed ore it will be hauled to a rail loading facility and transported an approximate 145-km to Steensby Inlet.  A deep-water port will be constructed and the iron-ore will be placed aboard proposed Double Acting Cargo Ships destined for European markets.

Construction of the full-scale operation is slated to commence in the summer of 2010 with anticipated first commercial shipments in 2014.