Mining Matters Workshop

Arctic Bay welcomed two visitors to its community on September 8^th.  Barb is an instructor from the charity organization Mining Matters and Rob is employed by the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation.  They had come to perform educational workshops for Grade 9, high school, teaching staff, and community members.  The workshops revolved around the mining industry in Nunavut, particularly the Mary River iron-ore project.  The Grade 9 & teaching staff workshops were scheduled for September 9^th and the high school & community workshops occurred on September 10^th.  Barb had staged a similar workshop last year around the same time except there would be many more activities this time.

            

On a side note, September 8^th was also the day when the fuel tanker Travestern arrived to replenish the tanks at the gas station.  The tanks contain gas, diesel, and aviation fuel.  The Travestern is owned & operated by the Woodward Group.  The fuel was transferred to the tanks via an underwater hose.  The tanker left the following day.

            

The teacher workshop was after school and it focused on the minerals found in the territory.  We got to look and identify various rock specimens using magnifying glasses.  I had to leave early because I had cadets in the evening. 

            

The high school workshop lasted the entire day; regular classes were postponed.  Everyone filed into the high school science room for the workshop.  Barb and Rob were there to greet the students and introduce themselves.  The students made nametags to make it easier for the visiting instructors to remember names.

            

Barb began the workshop by talking about how old the Earth is (4.3 billion years) and what kind of rocks/minerals can be found all over the planet.  She then focused on the mineral iron because that is the primary resource being extracted at the Mary River mine, located 280km southeast of Arctic Bay.  Most Inuit workers employed at Mary River come from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet.  When the students were done inspecting iron rock specimens, they went outside to complete a giant map activity.  The huge laminated map of Canada was 3m x 2m and in pieces.  The students were tasked with putting the map together like a puzzle.  The activity was designed to show the location of the Canadian Shield.  The students successfully completed the activity but came inside with muddy shoes.  The floor was quickly mopped by the principal and the workshop continued. 

            

The next set of maps were smaller and of Baffin Island.  The students used the maps to familiarize themselves with contour lines, elevation, glaciers, highest mountains, and the location of Mary River. 

            

Rob took over for Barb by showing a PowerPoint presentation on the Mary River Mine.  He showed pictures of the camp, mine site, loaders, large trucks, the port, and the road network the company built.  He also explained what life is like at the mine, the work schedules, and the jobs available.  The work schedule sees workers working 12 hour shifts for 14 days and then they are given 14 days off.  Each worker is assigned their own room that has a phone line, washroom, and internet access.  The workers are flown out for their time off.  Rob stressed to the students that if they wanted to work at the mine, they needed to finish high school.  Once hired, they would receive specific training.  Rob concluded his presentation by introducing Meena, Arctic Bay’s Baffinland Liaison Officer.  She deals specifically with Mary River and helps applicants with their paperwork & organizes schedules.  She said a few words in Inuktitut about helping interested students with their applications and dealing with any situations in the future.

            

The students played a modified version of the popular game Bingo! just before lunch.  Barb explained a mining job of some sort and if the students had the job title on their card, they marked it with a pencil.  When a student completed a specific pattern on their card they shouted, “I’m hired!”

            

Everyone received free red Baffinland t-shirts after lunch.  The classroom became a sea of red.  Barb continued the workshop with what to do when your GPS device “dies”.  Students were given compasses and shown how to take bearings.  The students took a few bearings in the classroom before being given a Garmin GPS device.  Barb taught the basics of operating the devices before taking the students outside for a waypoint tracking activity.  Pink flags were placed outside the school and students had to find them and record the coordinates.

            

The last activity of the workshop was finding iron deposits at Mary River using detailed maps.  The high school students thanked Barb & Rob for their informative workshop.

           

The community workshop that evening ran from 6 – 8pm.  Everyone was welcomed to attend.  It was originally scheduled for the day before but was postponed due to community events.  About fifteen people showed up the hands-on workshop. 

            

The content of the workshop was much different and was split into four parts.  The first part was a matching game where participants matched metals with their melting points.  The second part was a reclamation/matching puzzle.  Each person was given two sets of pictures.  One set displayed mine sites and the other set showed reclamation sites (what mines look like after they’re cleaned up).  The people had to match the pictures that resembled each other.  From this, they could determine which mineral was extracted and for what product it was used for.

            

The third activity focused on making jewelry using polished rocks of many colours.  Each participant had to encase their rock in a copper wire mesh and then attach it to a length of rope to form a necklace. 

            

The fourth activity proved to be the most popular because it was soapstone carving.  Everyone chose a precut square stone in the shape of mammals, insects, fish, and lizards.  Each participant was given a carving kit.  Their task was to turn the rough cut into a finished product.  This was to be done in three steps:

·         Step 1: Rough filing with a mesh cloth. 

·         Step 2: Sandpaper filing

·         Step 3: Fine sandpaper filing in a bucket of water. 

You let the carving dry for some time and then apply a specific kind of oil that was included in the carving kit.  There was only thirty minutes left in the workshop to complete the carving activity.  Those who weren’t finished were allowed to complete their work at home

Barb and Rob left for their next destination the following day on September 11^th.  Overall the workshops were a success.  The participants learned a lot about the mining industry, the rocks & minerals found in Nunavut, and the various mining job available to Inuit. 

This post was jointly written with Jean-Francois (JF), the high school math & science teacher.  All photos were taken by Ryan, the media & ESL teacher.