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The mine, which began operating in 2015, crushes iron ore on site before carrying it 100 kilometres by truck to a port where it s shipped to customers in Europe.
The mine is allowed to ship out six million tonnes of iron ore each year. Baffinland says it needs to double that output and build a 110-kilometre railway to stay profitable and reduce transportation costs. That would mean 176 ship transits each year and 20 train trips a day.
The railway would be the only one in Nunavut and the most northern one in Canada.
Public hearings before the Nunavut Impact Review Board are underway in Pond Inlet and Iqaluit on the proposed expansion.
Emma Tranter
The Mary River mine sits about 150 kilometres south of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, as shown in this undated handout image. Inuit are speaking out against the proposed expansion of an open-pit iron ore mine that would include construction of a railroad, and lead to more ship traffic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. MANDATORY CREDIT January 31, 2021 - 7:00 AM
IQALUIT, Nunavut - Nunavut communities on the northern tip of Baffin Island are speaking out against the proposed expansion of an open-pit iron ore mine that would include construction of a railroad, lead to more ship traffic and, hunters fear, affect wildlife.