The Department of Public Health may be called on to contribute to the process of evaluating the environmental and social impacts of any given projects on its territory, including those in the mining sector. Thus, it ensures that the population’s health is taken into account in such evaluations and has the power to intervene, notably by formulating recommendations.
Existing mines in Nunavik
Advanced mining projects in Nunavik
Restoration Project for Abandoned Mining Exploration Sites in Nunavik
Existing Mines in Nunavik
Raglan Mine
Launched into operation in December 1997, Raglan Mine is located near the New-Québec crater (Pingualuit National Park) and the communities of Salluit and Kangiqsujuaq. The property extends over nearly 70 km, east to west, and consists of a series of high-yield deposits of primarily nickel and copper.
For further information, consult the Raglan Mine’s Web site, Glencore Raglan Mine
Nunavik Nickel Mine
Nunavik Nickel Mine, located some 20 km west of Raglan Mine, was put into operation in 2014 by the company Canadian Royalties Inc.
For further information, consult Canadian Royalties Inc.’s Web site
Goodwood and Sunny 1 Mines
Tata Steel Minerals Canada Ltd. exploits iron deposits in Nunavik, approximately 50 km northwest of Schefferville. These sites consist of two open-pit operations (Goodwood, Sunny 1). The only activities at these sites are extraction and transport of ore and dead ground, with the ore processed in Labrador.
For further information, consult Tata Steel Minerals Canada Ltd.’s Web site
Advanced Mining Projects in Nunavik
Raglan Mine expansion project, Phases II and III
Glencore Corporation Canada, which operates Raglan Mine in the Katinniq sector, wishes to develop new underground mines and extend its production of nickel concentrate beyond 2019, over a period of 20 years.
For further information, consult the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission’s (KEQC) Web site.
Rare-earth mine project at Strange lake
The mining project in Zone-B of Strange Lake proposed by the company Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. is for rare earths. The site under study is located near the Labrador border, more than 300 km south of Kuujjuaq and Kangiqsualujjuaq.
The Department of Public Health formulated recommendations on health and social services issues and submitted them to the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission (KEQC) in July 2015 for preparation of the order for the mining project. Those recommendations aim for better consideration for Nunavimmiut health and well-being issues related to the project.
For further information, consult the Recommendations concerning health and social services issues for the preparation of the order for the rare-earth mining project in Zone-B of Strange Lake in Nunavik.
For further information, consult the KEQC’s Web site.
Hopes Advance iron-mine project
Oceanic Iron Ore is a firm whose activities are centred on development of iron properties in the Ungava subregion. It holds deposits some 10 km from Aupaluk, a community of fewer than 200 persons.
For further information, consult the Web site for the Hopes Advance project, Oceanic Iron Ore.
Uranium
The paper entitled “Pour un Nunavik qui a bonne mine : les enjeux de santé publique de la filière uranifère en milieu nordique” [Public-health issues relative to the uranium industry in northern regions] was submitted to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) [Bureau for public hearings on the environment], which held public hearings in 2014 on uranium exploration and mining on Québec territory. The paper, drafted by a working group of the NRBHSS, deals with the potential impacts on Nunavimmiut from the perspective of public health. More specifically, it draws up a list of preoccupations and recommendations concerning economic impacts, effects on the population’s physical and psychosocial health, consequences on hunting, fishing and gathering, protection of workers, impacts on the organization of health services and the concept of social acceptability.
Consult the paper submitted by the Nunavik Department of Public Health to the BAPE and the Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee (KEAC) in December 2014.
To obtain the BAPE’s full report on the issues of the uranium industry, consult the Web site.
Restoration Project for Abandoned Mining Exploration Sites in Nunavik
In 2001-2002, a potential sampling of 193 abandoned mining exploration sites in Nunavik was examined. Of that number, 90 sites were confirmed as being indeed abandoned. Of those 90, 18 were categorized as requiring large-scale restoration work, 27 as requiring medium-scale restoration work and 45 as requiring small-scale restoration work.
In 2007, the mining industry agreed to create the Fonds Restor-Action Nunavik (FRAN), a fund to restore mining exploration sites abandoned for several decades in Nunavik. In October 2007, the Kativik Regional Government (KRG), Makivik Corporation, the ministère des Ressources naturelles (MRN) and FRAN signed a contribution agreement that launched restoration efforts at all sites requiring large-scale work thanks to expertise acquired during pilot projects.