Newmont hopes to activate Nunavut gold mine project

Newmont Mining Corp. wants to get working this year on its Doris North gold mine project after taking last year off.

Chris Hanks, Newmont’s director of environment and social responsibility, told the Nunavut Mining Symposium that the Doris North mine project could start this year, with underground work starting this fall.

The company also wants to bring in a mill capable of processing 800 tonnes of ore per day, he said.

The company estimates the small Doris North contains roughly 300,000 ounces of gold, but potential mines at the nearby Doris Central, Madrid and Boston deposits likely contain between three million and five million ounces

A second phase of the Hope Bay project would see the company start to develop those sites

Newmont employed a total of 46 Inuit in 2009, Hanks said, comprising 31 per cent of its workforce, and is urging its contractors to hire more Inuit too.

“The majority of our contracting is done with companies that have a northern affiliation,” Hanks said. “We’re trying to bring our contractors along with us on Inuit employment rates.”

Newmont is already advertising jobs in the Kitikmeot region, seeking miners, equipment operators and labourers.

The company is building roads in the area to spur exploration work and “cut down on the amount of helicopter support that is needed,” Hanks said.

Hanks said a baseline environmental impact study is already underway for phase 2.