John Curran
There's no denying the new global economy is largely based on resources and its darling is Canada's North. Where else can investors and explorers come together in the hunt for diamonds, gold, uranium, base metals, oil and gas under the watchful eyes of stable, relatively pro-development governments?
Spending for metal, mineral and gem exploration is expect- ed to hit a combined total of $337.4 million in Nunavut and the NWT in 2007. That's a 26 per cent increase in just two years.
Commodity prices strong
With base metals like copper, nickel,lead and zinc taking turns setting new record highs almost every other month, gold at almost $700 an ounce and uranium hovering around $100 a pound, the lure of the Arctic isn't expected to fade in the mining community anytime soon.
Diamonds continue to be the backbone of the Northern mining industry. Together, the North's three producing gem mines - Diavik, Ekati and Jericho - churned out close to $1.6 billion in rough stones in 2006.
The CanTung mine added more than $51 million of tungsten to the Northern resource harvest in its first full year of production since reopening in the Deh Cho. While most mines generally come and go within a matter of years, Baffinland's plans for the Mary River iron ore deposit near Pond Inlet are being measured decades.
And with De Beers'Snap Lake diamond mine preparing for startup this fall and construction about to begin on a pair of Nunavut gold mines – Doris North in the Kitikmeot and Meadowbank in the Kivalliq – it won't be long before the Northern mining industry is producing $2 billion a year.
Pipeline to prosperity
As big as that number is,it is but a fraction of the $16.2 billion Imperial and its partners Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group may soon pay out to build the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline.
The Northern share of that capital budget is expected to be a minimum of $2.4 billion by way of salaries and contracts with NWT firms.
If the pipeline does advance, West Hawk Development and South African-based energy giant Sasol are already talking with folks around Tulita about a $5-billion plan to turn the area's rich coal deposits into gas. There's talk of as many as 10 wells being drilled next year in the Sahtu alone if southern companies are encouraged by what they hear coming out of the National Energy Board and Joint Review Panel hearings.
Building boom
All of this development means a lot work for already busy construction companies. And that is on top of massive infrastructure proposals like the $49-million Iqaluit Port, $130-million Deh Cho bridge, $280-million Bathurst Inlet Port and Road project, $700-million all-weather Mackenzie Highway extension and the $2-billion Kivalliq-Manitoba road.
All of that work will take many skilled hands and trained minds to complete.
There is a lot of talk about building capacity in Northern communities, which simply put means getting Northerners the education and experience so they are able to capitalize on these opportunities for themselves rather than watching the dollars flow south with the next wave of migrant workers.
In 2005, the NWT Bureau of Statistics estimates 16.5 per cent of all labour income left the territories. That equates to $277 million that doesn't end up trickling down to Northern retailers or service providers. To help plug this steady leak, both territorial governments have been investing in education.
In Rankin Inlet, a trades school is expected to open in 2008, providing Nunavummiut a chance to build a rewarding career without leaving the North.
In the NWT, new initiatives have helped students stay in school longer to the point that more than half of those earning a diploma last year were aboriginal. The students graduating today will be the Northern leaders of tomorrow, so getting them to shoot for their full potential is essential for boosting the quality of life in the North.
Of course the Arctic is not without its downsides,such as our dependence on diesel-generated power, for example.
But now both Nunavut and NWT are poised to place a much larger emphasis on cleaner energy through hydroelectricity and new technologies like wind and solar power.
Five sites are being considered around Iqaluit for a 30 megawatt project and the Taltson hydro dam in the South Slave region of the NWT may soon get a $250 million revamping to boost its output to 58 megawatts from just 18 megawatts.
So no matter what industry you're involved with in the North, you're sure to see opportunity just around the next corner.
-Updated June, 2007 |
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