Sakku teams up with ATCO for work in Kivalliq’s mining industry

Sakku Investments Corp., the business arm of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, has signed a joint venture agreement with ATCO Structure and Logistics, a well-known firm that specializes in workforce housing.

Together, the two have created a new company called Sakku ATCO Buildings and Services to benefit resource development activities and construction across the Kivalliq.

“Mining activity in our territory must benefit the Inuit people,” said Patrick Tagoona, president and CEO of Sakku Investments Corp., in a Jan. 30 news release.

“Our partnership with ATCO, which has more than 60 years experience in the construction and operation of workforce camps, will provide Sakku with an opportunity to share in the wealth of our land while providing necessary services to the mining industry.”

The agreement was signed last week during the Mineral Exploration Roundup mining conference in Vancouver.

“ATCO’s partnership with Sakku is a tremendous opportunity for both companies,” said Boris Rassin, ATCO’s executive vice-president of business development. “Together we will offer economical infrastructure solutions to the companies developing Canada’s North, while working to create long-term business and employment opportunities for the Inuit people.”

Rassin said that ATCO’s expertise in power and utilities development, workforce housing, steel industrial buildings and modular infrastructure is needed in the North, where the construction season is short and skilled labour scarce.

It won’t be ATCO’s first time teaming up with an Inuit organization; the company already partners with a collation of Inuit birthright organizations under Nasittuq Corp. joint venture.

Nasittuq operates and maintains the North Warning System chain of 47 unmanned radars that line the Arctic coast, although the federal government is expected to be looking for new bidders in the near future.