Nanisivik Mine was a zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

-lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 mine

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 in the company town

Company town

A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...

 of Nanisivik

Nanisivik, Nunavut

Nanisivik was a company town which was built in 1975 to support the lead-zinc mining and mineral processing operations for the Nanisivik Mine, in production between 1976 and 2002...

, Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

, 750 km (466 mi) north of the Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 on Baffin Island

Baffin Island

Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...

. It was Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's first mine in the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

.
The mine first opened on 15 October 1976 and permanently closed in September 2002 due to low metal prices and declining resources. Mine reclamation

Mine reclamation

Mine reclamation is the process of creating useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals, typically creating productive ecosystems from mined land...

 began in April 2003

The mine was served by a port and dock located about 2.7 km (1.6 mi) north. It was used for shipping concentrate from the site, and receiving supplies (73°04′08"N 084°32′57"W). It is currently used by the Canadian Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...

 for training.

The mine also had its own airport (Nanisivik Airport

Nanisivik Airport

Nanisivik Airport was located south of Nanisivik, Nunavut, Canada, and was operated by the Government of Nunavut. Although Nanisivik Mine closed in September 2002 the airport was in operation until 2011 and served the community of Arctic Bay. This was due to the small size of Arctic Bay Airport...

) located about 7 km (4.3 mi) southwest and it is still in operation as the main airport for Arctic Bay

Arctic Bay, Nunavut

Arctic Bay is an Inuit hamlet located in the northern part of the Borden Peninsula on Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Arctic Bay is located in the Eastern Time Zone although it is quite close to the time zone boundary. The predominant languages are Inuktitut and English...

. The airport is about 19 km (11.8 mi) directly southeast of Arctic Bay but the road between them is 32 km (19.9 mi).

See also

• Nanisivik Naval Facility
  Nanisivik Naval Facility
  The Nanisivik Naval Facility is a Canadian Forces naval facility which is to be constructed on Baffin Island, Nunavut. The station will be built at the former lead-zinc mine site near the former company town of Nanisivik.-History:...
  
  
• Polaris mine
  Polaris mine
  Polaris zinc mine was an underground zinc mine on Little Cornwallis Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut . The Polaris mine was located north of the Arctic Circle, and north of the community of Resolute...
  
  
• El Toqui mine
  El Toqui mine
  El Toqui mine is a zinc-gold mine in Chile. The mine is owned by Breakwater Resources through its wholly owned subsidiary company Sociedad Contractul Minera el Toqui. The mine was purchased from Barrick Gold Corporation in 1997....
  
  
• El Mochito mine
  El Mochito mine
  El Mochito mine is an underground zinc and silver mine in Honduras that is owned by Breakwater Resources. The mine is located near the municipality of Las Vegas in northwest section Honduras . At approximately northeast of the mine, the closest major city is San Pedro Sula, which also acts as...