A huge iron ore development at Mary River on northern Baffin
Island is about to change an ancient landscape. Baffinland Mary
River is majority owned by ArcelorMittal, which was ranked 70th
on the Fortune Global 500 largest corporations in 2012. The
project consists of a massive iron ore deposit at Mary River,
which the Inuit of the region call Nuluuyaat, a landmark that
has been used for generations to guide travel through North
Baffin Island. The deposit was discovered in the 1960s but left
undeveloped until now because it was considered too remote and
costly. However, the rapidly changing Arctic climate has changed
the equation. The Mary River project will produce 18 million
tonnes of ore per year, pure enough that no milling (and thus no
tailings ponds) will be required on site. Instead, the ore will
be shipped by a 150 kilometre-long railway to a new port being
constructed at Steensby Inlet. It is the first railway built in
Canada in generations; and it’s the first time such a project
has been attempted o