AMEC wins contract for Arctic iron ore mine

AMEC has been awarded a $150-million contract to engineer and manage construction on an iron ore mine in the Arctic. The Mary River Iron Ore project is the first iron mine to be built in decades. It taps into a huge rich deposit on Baffin Island.
The project will take six years to build at an estimated cost of $4.1 billion, including not just the mine, but housing for employees, a railway and a port. When completed in 2014, the mine will produce around 18 million tonnes of iron ore, and is expected to have an initial life of 20 years.
AMEC’s Natural Resources division will be doing the engineering, procurement management and construction management on behalf of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation. Work is beginning immediately, and includes logistic planning and basic and detailed engineering services for the mine and the export infrastructure.
Neil Bruce, chief operating officer of AMEC’s Natural Resources Division, said in an announcement they were “thrilled” with the award of the project