Miner targets Inuit workers to fill mine jobs

Training the locals to work at the Meadowbank Project near Baker Lake in Nunavut Territory and pouring dollars into the community by purchasing services from local contractors is a big part of the commitment that Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. made to gain the right to produce the estimated 3.5 million ounces of gold it has identified so far on the property.

"We anticipate a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with citizens and government of Nunavut, much like our experience in Quebec," Agnico-Eagle Vice Chairman and CEO Sean Boyd said recently.

Under terms of the Inuit Impacts & Benefits Agreement that Agnico-Eagle signed with the Kivillaq Inuit Association, the miner must fix its Minimum Inuit Employment Goal and identify barriers that must be removed or minimized to increase the number of potential Inuit employees at Meadowbank.

During construction this year, Meadowbank has about 1,000 people, mostly contractors, working a two-weeks-on-two-weeks-off rotation, with 550 workers on site from July to November.

David Smith, Agnico-Eagle's vice president of investor relations, said about 250 company employees are currently working on the project. Of that number, about 43 percent are Inuit, he reported.

In addition, the contractors working at Meadowbank include three 100 percent Inuit-owned firms, BLCS, Peter's Expediting and Arctic Fuel.

Of the C$500 million spent on the project, so far, C$188 million also went to contracts with companies with significant local interests, including First Air, Dyno, Toromont and NTCL, according to Smith.

Training to gear up at startup

When production gets underway in early 2010, Agnico-Eagle expects to employ 500 permanent workers at Meadowbank with about 35 percent drawn from the local labor force.

The company has initiated an "on-the-job training program'' for various positions, and is touring the local community to talk about job opportunities among Inuit youth.

But Agnico-Eagle's training managers report difficulty finding space for the training effort at the mine site because of construction activities.

Starting in 2010, the company plans to launch more on-the-job training of local residents to fill a host of jobs at the mine. These occupations include haulage truck operators, auxiliary equipment operators, crusher helpers, cook helpers, crusher operators and mill helpers, the managers said.

From this ongoing training program, Agnico-Eagle anticipates increasing the number of Inuit employees on its payroll each year of the 10 years that the mine is expected to be in production.