Key Players In the Mining Industry
The following links provide information for moving an exploration or mining project forward during these challenging times. The NMSS provides these links to assist with a better understanding of the Nunavut environment, its players and how to better navigate Nunavut’s systems.
Exploration Overview
The Nunavut Mineral Exploration, Mining and Geoscience Overview is a valuable resource that provides information on mineral exploration and mining projects in Nunavut. The current and past annual publications are available from the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office website above.
Government of Nunavut - Economic Development & Transportation
The Department of Economic Development and Transportation’s Minerals and Petroleum Resources division is responsible for encouraging and supporting the development of sustainable mining and petroleum industries in Nunavut. This includes support for the development of geoscience information, financial and technical support for prospectors, the enhancement of investor confidence and liaison with key players including industry, local service sectors and potential workforce participants. Program descriptions and documents are available from the department website.
Nunavut Geoscience
NunavutGeoscience.ca is an open data portal where an inventory of authoritative geoscience information can be searched. The site is a joint initiative of the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO), Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and the Government of Nunavut (GN). Contributions to the project have come from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI). The website is constantly evolving and is being upgraded this year.
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) is the organization that represents the territory’s 33,000 Inuit and their rights under the Nunavut Agreement. Inuit make up over 83% of Nunavut’s population. NTI is governed by a Board of Directors elected by Nunavut Inuit 16 years of age and older. NTI coordinates and manages Inuit responsibilities set out in the Nunavut Agreement and ensures that the federal and territorial governments fulfill their obligations.
The Nunavut Agreement
The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed in 1993 by representatives of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (now NTI), the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories (now the GN). As a modern-day treaty, the Nunavut Agreement, as it is now termed, provides certainty and clarity of rights to ownership and use of lands and resources within Nunavut. This agreement gave Inuit fee simple title to 356,000 km2 of land, making the Nunavut Agreement the largest Indigenous land settlement in Canadian history. Inuit hold fee simple title including mineral rights to 150 parcels of Inuit Owned Land (IOL), totaling 38,000 km2 and representing approximately two per cent of the territory.
There are 944 parcels of IOL in which Inuit hold surface title only, with the Crown retaining the mineral rights to these lands. Surface title to all IOL is held in each of the three regions (Kitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtani) by the respective Regional Inuit Association (RIA). Title to subsurface IOL is held and administered by NTI. Exploration agreements and mineral production leases are negotiated by NTI on land where it owns the subsurface rights. Access permission and land-use licenses are granted by the RIAs on all IOL in their respective regions.
INUIT ORGANIZATIONS:
Nunavut is divided into three regions, with these, from east to west, being Qikiqtaaluk, Kivalliq and Kitikmeot. Each region has its own Regional Inuit Association (RIA) and these are listed below with the link to their websites.
Qikiqtani Inuit Association https://www.qia.ca/
Kivalliq Inuit Association http://kivalliqinuit.ca/
Kitikmeot Inuit Association http://www.kitia.ca/
NUNAVUT REGULATORY AGENCIES:
Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB)
The Nunavut Impact Review Board’s mission is to protect and promote the well-being of the environment and Nunavummiut through the Impact Assessment process.
Nunavut Water Board (NWB)
The Nunavut Water Board has responsibilities and powers over the regulation, use and management of water in the Nunavut Settlement Area.
Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC)
The Nunavut Planning Commission is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of Land Use Plans that guide and direct resource use and development in the Nunavut Settlement Area. A land-use conformity determination from NPC is required before a regulatory authority may issue a license, permit, or any other authorization in respect of a project.
Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement (IIBA)
An Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement (IIBA) is a formal contract between an Inuit community and a corporation or government that lays out the details of major development project. An IIBA is only required for operations on IOL – all of the current mines in Nunavut do have operations on Inuit owned lands; a project with Crown-Crown surface-subsurface rights would not need to negotiate an IIBA. An IIBA may include any matter connected with the project that could have a detrimental impact on Inuit or that could reasonably confer a benefit on Inuit within Nunavut. The agreement shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of project approval, including those terms and conditions established pursuant to any ecosystemic and socio-economic impact review. Negotiation and arbitration of IIBAs are guided by the following principles: (a) benefits shall be consistent with and promote Inuit cultural goals; (b) benefits shall contribute to achieving and maintaining a standard of living among Inuit equal to that of other Canadians; c) benefits shall be related to the nature, scale and cost of the project as well as its direct and indirect impacts on Inuit; (d) benefits shall not place an excessive burden on the proponent and undermine the viability of the project; and (e) benefit agreements shall not prejudice the ability of other residents of Nunavut to obtain benefits from major projects in Nunavut.
FEDERAL:
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis; modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North.
The Government of Canada administers sub-surface rights for 98 per cent of Nunavut. Mineral claims and mineral leases are issued pursuant to the Nunavut Mining Regulations by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s (CIRNAC) Nunavut Regional Office. Surface rights for Crown land are administered according to the regulations of the Territorial Lands Act.
Nunavut Mining Regulations & Nunavut Map Selection
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) is modernizing the way that mineral claims are acquired in Nunavut. This change will allow license holders to acquire mineral rights using an online system which includes an interactive map, a pre-defined grid and an on-line shopping cart to pay fees. The amended Nunavut Mining Regulations take effect on November 1, 2020, starting a 90-day Coming Into Force period ending January 29, 2021. The Nunavut Map Selection system is planned to become live on January 30, 2021.
Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (NuPPAA)
The Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act (NuPPAA) came into force July 9th, 2015. The Act establishes in legislation the work of the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) and the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) and clearly defines their powers, duties and functions, including how their commissioners/board members are appointed. The Act also clearly defines the roles and authorities of Inuit, and the federal and territorial governments. Further information on the Act and the role of NuPPAA can be found in the above link.
Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO)
The Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO) is a tri-partite office, co-funded by the federal and territorial governments (Natural Resources Canada [NRCan], Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada [CIRNAC], and the Government of Nunavut [GN]). The three partners and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) provide managerial input to the office.
The CNGO, located in Iqaluit, supplies geoscience information and expertise in Nunavut in support of responsible exploration and development of mineral and energy resources. This information may be used to make decisions about activities that could affect Nunavut’s land, natural resource development and extraction, and the environment.
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) works with Northerners and Indigenous peoples, communities, businesses, organizations, other federal departments and other orders of government to help build diversified and dynamic economies that foster long-term sustainability and economic prosperity across the three territories – Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. CanNor’s head office is in Iqaluit with three regional offices located in Yellowknife (NWT, Whitehorse (YT) and Ottawa (ON).
Northern Projects Management Office
The NPMO was established to improve the environmental review process for proposed major resource development and infrastructure projects in northern Canada. NPMO has a mandate to improve the timeliness, predictability and transparency of northern regulatory processes to foster a more stable and attractive investment climate in the territories.
NWT/NU Chamber of Mines
The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines has been the voice of the Northern mining and exploration industry since 1967. The Chamber’s primary objective is to encourage, assist and stimulate the prosperous, orderly and environmentally responsible development and growth of mining and mineral exploration in the NWT and Nunavut. The overall goal of the Chamber is to promote the industry and the north to Northerners, Canadians and the world at large. The Chamber advises governments, regulatory agencies, investors, Aboriginal groups, the media, schools and universities, and the public on industry positions and initiatives.
The Chamber of Mines has two offices with the head office located in Yellowknife and a satellite office in Iqaluit. The Chamber has recently completed two phases of work on the Nunavut Assessment Drill Database (NADD), a This project was fully funded by the Geological Survey of Canada through a Natural Resources Canada GEM (Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals) grant. NADD is a compilation of drillhole data from mineral assessment reports filed by exploration companies as representative work with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) in Nunavut. NADD provides geoscientists and other users with data that is readily searchable and can be displayed in a geographic browser such as Google Earth. NADD’s core products include an Excel spreadsheet and an interactive Google Earth file.
The Chamber also provides information about advanced exploration projects and the active mines at the links below.