MINING NORTH OF 60

Economically, the closure of Pine Point hurt the north. But there are still several producers feeding government coffers with tax dollars and workers with paycheques, as you’ll read in this section on mining north of the 60th Parallel. Our coverage, while not complete (we fail to cover Giant Yellowknife), does include a mine visit feature on Nanisivik and reports from four other mines: Polaris, Nerco’s Con mine, Faro and Lupin. The same type of government initiative that made Pine Point viable (a railway with an $80-million price tag in 1963, built under the federal government’s “Roads to Resources” program) would spur further mining activity north of 60. That is the conclusion of a study conducted by Leo Verleun and Brian Mackenzie of the Centre for Resource Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont. A report on their work begins in this section. Other researchers have found that northern economic benefits from mining aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. That study is reviewed by our research columnist, Joyce Musial, beginning on page 8. — Patrick Whiteway, Technical Editor

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