New Approaches to Mine Closure in Nunavik, Québec

Mine closure is the final stage of a mine’s lifecycle and can have complex social, economic, and cultural impacts on nearby communities. These impacts include population decline, reduced services, household stress, ecological change, and reduced access to land-based activities. These impacts become more likely when communities are not engaged with during the closure planning process. Glencore Raglan is attempting to mitigate these issues through the Raglan Mine Closure Sub-committee, which is made up of both company employees and community representatives from Salluit and Kangiqsujuaq. Their goal is to collaboratively develop a closure plan that meets community needs. Through the Mitacs Accelerate program, students from Memorial University of Newfoundland are working with this sub-committee to aid its progress by: (a) tracking and evaluating its work, and (b) conducting comparative analyses of mine closure plans and mine remediation sites from across Northern Canada to inform the development of Raglan’s closure plan. This project will contribute to knowledge about best practices for community engaged mine closure planning and will ensure that the next iteration of Raglan’s closure plan more effectively meets community needs and centres Inuit voices.

Faculty Supervisor:

Arn Keeling

Student:

Miranda Monosky;Caitlynn Beckett

Partner:

Glencore Canada Corporation - Raglan Mine

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland