Nunavut plays catch-up with NWT on mineral production

This graph from Natural Resources Canada shows how Nunavut measures up to the Northwest Territories and Yukon with respect to its mineral production.

Natural Resources Canada has released its preliminary estimate of the mineral production in Canada.

And in the NWT, the value of diamond production from its three diamond mines increased by about $40 million over 2010, and tungsten increased significantly after Cantung mine re‐opened after the recession.

In Nunavut, gold and silver production from its only mine, Agnico-Eagle’s Meadowbank gold mine, increased by nearly $100 million in part because 2010 marked the opening of the mine and was a partial year of production, its estimates show.

But Nunavut still has a long way to go to catch up with NWT, which racked up more than $2 billion from mineral production in 2010.

“The NWT mines have turned their production value into significant employment, business and tax benefits for the territory and for Canada. Similarly, Nunavut is benefiting from its new gold mine, and additional proposed mining projects have the potential to contribute as significantly to Nunavut as do the mines in the NWT,” said Pam Strand, the new president of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, in a March 19 news release.

The preliminary estimates for mineral production in Nunavut for 2011 stand at $413.9 million, up from $317 million in 2010.