Mary River Iron Ore Development
Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation | Canada | 2011–2016
28,000 tonnes of cargo
shipped in 10 weeks
Over 500
people housed on site
700
jobs created
800,000
man-hours with 0 LTIs
Challenges
- Located 500 km north of the Arctic Circle in Canada, the climate and conditions posed significant technical and logistical challenges.
- From November to February, temperatures during the winter polar night average -30°C. In summer, three months of 24-hour sunlight dominates.
- The frozen ocean limited bulk resupply and product shipment to just 70 days in late summer. All other transport is by aircraft from local communities and southern Canada.
Solutions
- In 2012, a feasibility study was completed and environmental approval granted for a large-scale, 18 million tpa mine, rail, and port development.
- The fast-track Early Revenue Phase project was developed and implemented in 2013—2014 to mine and ship 3.5 million tpa of ore.
- We provided project management, engineering design, procurement and contract management, and construction-management support for the project.
- The high-grade iron-ore can be shipped directly to customers without processing. To date, more than 2.5 million tonnes have been produced at an average grade of 64%.
Highlights
- Our contribution to the environmental documentation facilitated the permitting process, maintaining our client's aggressive schedule.
- Implementing the Early Revenue Phase project required extremely fast ramp-up and innovative design-procurement strategies.
- Materials and equipment destined for the site met the 70-day shipping-season window in 2013. We had to ensure equipment literally did not “miss the boat”.
“On behalf of myself and the Baffinland Iron Mines management team, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the contribution that the Hatch team have made, and continue to make, to the success of the Mary River Project. It has certainly been a dynamic and challenging year for the project team and each and every one of the team has demonstrated a thorough understanding of our objectives and has delivered against the odds.”
Project numbers
28,000 tonnes of cargo delivered by sealift in 10 weeks40 million litres of diesel fuel delivered by sealift in 10 weeks
2.8 million cubic metres of earthworks
15 months from start of construction to start of mining
