Milne Inlet

For the bay in New Guinea, see Milne Bay.

United States Coast Guard Cutter Juniper navigating through Milne Inlet in 2012

Milne Inlet (72°15′N 080°30′W / 72.250°N 80.500°W / 72.250; -80.500 (Mine Inlet)) is a small, shallow arm of Eclipse Sound which, along with Navy Board Inlet, separates Bylot Island from Baffin Island in Nunavut's Qikiqtaaluk Region.[1] Milne Inlet flows in a southerly direction from Navy Board Inlet at the confluence of Eclipse Sound. Milne Inlet is shallow and has high tides and strong winds. It only has 90 days where it is ice-free—from August to October.[1] The hamlet of Mittimatalik —Pond Inlet which is 92% Inuit, is the gateway to many tourist attractions in the region,[2] and is 80 km from Milne Inlet.[3] The region is part of the Arctic Cordillera,[4] with one of Canada's most inhospitable climates—with long, dark winters and temperatures averaging −35 °C (−31 °F).[5]

Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, which owns the Mary River iron ore mine—100 km (62 mi) from Milne Inlet, began to develop a harbour infrastructure in Milne Inlet in the 2000s, which became operational in 2015. Baffinland which has submitted plans to double—and eventually triple its production—has applied for the use of ice-breakers to keep the waters open for ten months, much to the concern of surrounding Inuit communities.[6]

  1. ^ a b Gedeon, Julie (March 2, 2009). "Floating wharf gets around lack of Arctic infrastructure". Canadian Sailings. Arctic Shipping Special Report. Archived from the original on November 13, 2010.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PC_Nunavut_Handbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "5 Things To Do In Pond Inlet". Destination Nunavut. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hamlet of Pond Inlet". Archived from the original on June 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Gregoire, Lisa (April 9, 2015). "Nunavut regulatory org says no to Baffinland". Nunatsiaq Online. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. In a bold move announced April 8 that will impact how Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. operates its Mary River iron mine in north Baffin, NPC directors have decided unanimously that the mining company's amended project proposal does not conform to the North Baffin Regional Land Use Plan (NBRLUP).