Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. says it is moving forward with construction of a railroad that will help increase the Mary River Mine’s production and potential lifespan.
The Steensby railway, extending 149 kilometers south from Mary River to Steensby Port, would allow the Mary River Mine to increase its iron ore production and estimated lifespan. Source: Baffinland
“This is a defining moment for the Mary River project,” said Jowdat Waheed, acting chief executive officer for Baffinland, in a news release Thursday announcing that the railway plan had received all key regulatory authorizations and can proceed.
The company’s Steensby Inlet component—an all-year rail line that would run 149 kilometers south from Mary River to the proposed Steensby Port—would allow Baffinland to increase iron ore production to 22 million tons per year from the current 4.2 million tons.
It would also help extend the mine’s life until 2050 “and beyond,” said Peter Akman, head of communications for Baffinland, in an email.
“This reflects access to significantly larger proven and probable reserves that cannot be efficiently developed without rail access,” he said.
Baffinland currently employs 1,200 workers across Nunavut, including mine site, port operations, marine, logistics, and support staff, Akman said.
Until Thursday’s Steensby announcement, the Mary River Mine on northern Baffin Island was set to cease operations by 2035.
Akman didn’t specify the estimated price tag to build the railroad, saying it will be released in the “near future.”
The Steensby rail line was part of Baffinland’s original proposal for Mary River and was approved by the federal government in 2012.
Shortly after the initial approval, Baffinland turned away from its plans for the Arctic railway, which at the time was estimated to cost $5.7 billion.
Instead, the company applied to increase its shipments to 12 million tonnes of iron ore annually through Milne Inlet and Eclipse Sound. The federal government rejected that proposal in 2022 after a heated, years-long public hearing.
Baffinland returned to its original plan of building a railway, which was deemed instrumental to the mine’s survival, according to a 2021 report commissioned by the mine titled Mary River Project Economics Explained.
Construction of the railway is expected to begin later this year, with substantial completion in approximately three years, the company’s news release said.
Source: Nunatsiaq
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