Baffinland slows plans for construction at Mary River

Baffinland Iron Mines has withdrawn an application to start major construction at the Mary River site before the iron project receives regulatory approval.

The company had applied for an exemption to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement that would have allowed the activity. But this week, in a letter to the Nunavut Impact Review Board, the company said it will withdraw that application.

The letter dated Dec. 14 said, "The general consensus amongst stakeholders was that Baffinlands proposed [pre-development work]was too ambitious, and that due to community and regulatory concerns, the scope of the [pre-development work] should be scaled back."

The company also wrote "Baffinland remains committed to the Mary River Project."

The work Baffinland plans to do next year will "be considerably scaled back" but the company hopes some work at the proposed mine site will go ahead. This could include the construction of a five million litre fuel tank near the iron ore deposits, and the installation of a 46-person camp at the Steensby Inlet port site. All those materials are already on site.

The announcement comes after the Nunavut Impact Review Board recently told Baffinland there are more than 350 questions the company still needs to answer in its final environmental impact statement.

In the letter that announced the withdrawal of the pre-development work plan, Baffinland officials said they have assessed the impact of this move on the project schedule, but the letter did not say what the results of this assessment were.