Polaris mine

Polaris zinc mine was a former underground mine on Little Cornwallis Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut (Northwest Territories prior to Nunavut's official separation).^[3] The zinc mine was located 1,120 km (700 mi) north of the Arctic Circle, and 96 km (60 mi) north of the community of Resolute.^[4] It closed in July 2002 following more than twenty years of zinc production.^[5]

In 1964 Vancouver-based Comincooptioned all the mineral claims in Canada's Arctic that were controlled by Bankeno Mines. Mineral and economic assessments resulted in a 23 million ton reserve at a zinc grade of 14.1 per cent. Approval of the project was obtained in 1979, then Prime MinisterJoe Clark waived environmental assessment hearings and pledged to ship half of the concentrate from the mine in the federally owned icebreakerMV Arctic.^[6] The entire mineral processing plant, power plant and workshop were built upon a barge and travelled 5,600 km (3,500 mi) from Quebec to the mine site. In 1981 the mine commenced production.^[7] The Polaris mine employed over 250 people. Although only 20 mine employees were from northern Canada, thirty percent of employment in Resolute was directly related to the mine.^[8]

The Polaris mine produced over 21 million tonnes of lead-zinc ore during the life of the mine, with a market value of over $1.5 billion. Concentrate from the mining operation was stored in a 210 m (700 ft) long warehouse, which was the largest structure in Nunavut.^[7]

Inicialmente, el cierre de la mina estaba programado para 2001; sin embargo, debido a la mejora de las técnicas mineras, su vida útil se extendió un año, hasta 2002. Los procedimientos de rehabilitación posteriores al cierre de la mina Polaris establecieron un nuevo estándar para el cierre de minas en el territorio de Nunavut. La rehabilitación del sitio minero comenzó mientras la mina aún estaba en funcionamiento; este trabajo se planificó para garantizar que no tuviera un efecto adverso en la operación minera (como la remoción de edificios en desuso). Cominco tenía la intención de enterrar la mayor parte de los edificios y materiales en una cantera cercana , donde el permafrost evitaría la contaminación. Cominco ofreció las viviendas del personal al gobierno federal para su uso como colonia penal en la isla. Los artículos domésticos se ofrecieron a los residentes de las comunidades inuit cercanas . La limpieza del sitio minero Polaris duró dos años, con monitoreo ambiental hasta 2011. ^{[ 7 ]}

• Mina Nanisivik