Baffinland Iron Mines shipped 4.1 million tonnes of iron ore from Baffin Island to markets overseas between Aug. 2 and Oct. 17, the company announced on Oct. 18. Baffinland proclaimed that 56 Panamax cargo vessels, carrying an average of 72,600 tonnes of iron ore apiece over 75 days of open-water season, "marked the largest shipping program by volume ever executed in the Canadian High Arctic."
No health and safety or environmental incidents occurred during transport, according to Baffinland.
The company shipped 2.7 million tonnes of iron ore from its Mary River iron mine – 160 km south of Pond Inlet – in 2016. The ore is trucked from Mary River to a port at Milne Inlet.
Baffinland's expansion plan, which would increase annual iron ore shipments to a maximum of 12 million tonnes and include the construction of a 110-km rail line, is currently before the Nunavut Planning Commission.