Name of the Mine
Mary River mine.

Location  
The Arctic Circle on north Baffin Island, in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut, in Canada.

Mine Owner/s  
Baffinland Iron Mines, which is jointly owned by The Energy and Minerals Group, and ArcelorMittal.

Brief Description
Mary River is one of the most northern mines in the world. It has some of the highest-grade hematite and magnetite ore deposits ever discovered, comprising five high-grade deposits and six prospects.

Baffinland has been focusing on Deposit No 1.

The mining complex consists of the mine site at Mary River and Milne Port north of the mine. The two sites are connected by a tote road.

Mary River is unique in that it crushes and screens the ore on site, and then ships it directly to markets – no concentrating or processing is needed, and, therefore, no tailings are produced.

Brief History  
Commercial production from Deposit No 1 started in 2014.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Iron-ore.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
Not stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Mary River mine is part of the Committee Belt, and comprises granite greenstone terrains, and rift basin sedimentary and volcanic rocks, extending for more than 2 000 km from south-west of Baker Lake to north-western Greenland.

The deposits and prospects represent high-grade examples of Algomatype iron formation consisting of magnetite, hematite and specular hematite mineralisation.

Reserves  
Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2021, were estimated at 91-million tonnes grading 65.1% iron.

Resources  
Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2021, were estimated at 16-million tonnes grading 65.4% iron. Inferred resources were estimated at 153-million tonnes grading 65.2% iron.

Mining Method  
Conventional openpit truck-and-shovel operation.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Deposit 1 is mined using hydraulic excavators and large front-end loaders to load the mine’s 90 t and 212 t haul trucks. Ore is delivered to portable crushers. Waste material is transported to a dump location on site.

Prospects  
The current mine operation is expected to last for more than 20 years, with the ability for the operation to last significantly longer if it is allowed to expand to include other deposits, which have been identified.

Contact Details
Baffinland
Tel +1 416 364 8820
Email Contact@baffinland.com

Sources
ArcellorMittal. Annual Report 2021.
ArvellorMittal. Website: https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/.

Baffinland Iron Ore. Website: https://baffinland.com/.