{"id":106396,"date":"2025-08-29T22:25:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T22:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/106396\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T22:25:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T22:25:24","slug":"prospect-of-iron-mine-near-aupaluk-spurs-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/106396\/","title":{"rendered":"Prospect of iron mine near Aupaluk spurs discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. plans to seek permits for Hopes Advance Bay mine<\/p>\n

Eva Grey\u2019s history in Aupaluk goes back to the 1970s, when the land where the community of 200 now sits was mainly used for camping and hunting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Eva Grey stands next to a map of the land around Aupaluk. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real town now,\u201d Grey said, speaking of new infrastructure<\/a> such as a large health centre and new water plant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting big.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grey has served many roles in Aupaluk as a municipal leader, search and rescue co-ordinator and as an educator.<\/p>\n

Aupaluk\u2019s growth has had an impact on fish and other animals in the environment who are avoiding the community\u2019s populated areas, Grey said.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s another potential development on the horizon that could have a further impact: mining.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Mining is a \u201cdivisive\u201d issue in Aupaluk which residents fight over, Grey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot of noise, we\u2019re not going to like it,\u201d she said, adding she\u2019s worried over how it will impact peoples\u2019 abilities to fish and camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about it, this is gonna happen. The kids cry sometimes, [because] they like fishing in the river when they\u2019re growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aupaluk saw its fair share of mining activity in the 1950s and 1960s.<\/p>\n

Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. submitted<\/a> its Hopes Advance project for federal review in 2012, with the hope of building a mine west of Aupaluk<\/a> on Hopes Advance Bay.<\/p>\n

With very few<\/a> public statements on the proposed mine\u2019s status in recent years, the company issued a news release Monday stating it\u2019s still moving forward with the project.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hopes Advance Project is undoubtedly a world-class iron ore development project, located in a tier-one mining jurisdiction in the same geological formation of other world class producing iron ore mines,\u201d said Steven Dean, the company\u2019s chairman, in the news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to be a 100 per cent owner of an asset containing a very large mineral resource, and related significant production profile that will span generations to come, while also contributing to the economic development of northern Quebec in the short and long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

A representative for Oceanic was not available for an interview to answer further questions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This map identifies Oceanic Iron Ore Corp.\u2019s proposed project locations, including Hopes Advance, which is west of Aupaluk. (Image courtesy of Oceanic Iron Ore Corp.)<\/p>\n

The news release provides some technical details such as a potential 28-year lifespan for the mine, and the construction of a privately built and operated port to ship the product.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

A \u201cnext steps\u201d list includes working on timelines and gaining permits, engineering, as well as \u201cre-engagement with representatives of the Inuit of Nunavik.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mining companies\u2019 interests in the land near Aupaluk played a role in the land selection process of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which was signed in 1975, says Pita Aatami, president of Makivvik Corporation.<\/p>\n

Aupaluk \u2013 Red Earth, a Makivvik-produced documentary, provides an in-depth look on how a mining claim led to the community\u2019s relocation in the 1970s, and how residents are thinking today about what the future may hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were being told that nothing ever belonged to you, even though they were living there,\u201d Aatami said in an interview earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hurt that these people went through was tremendous to hear them talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aatami said he\u2019s \u201cnot pro-mining,\u201d but also \u201cnot against development\u201d in Nunavik.<\/p>\n

In 2011, Makivvik, under Aatami\u2019s leadership, agreed to terms<\/a> with Oceanic on how a Hopes Advance mine would be developed.<\/p>\n

Today, Aatami says he wants future developments to proceed \u201ctogether in partnership\u201d with Inuit in Nunavik.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for is our home as our priority. We\u2019ve always gotten food off the land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not against development, but I want to make sure people understand that we have to look at [the] environment as our priority first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. plans to seek permits for Hopes Advance Bay mine Eva Grey\u2019s history in Aupaluk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-106396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}