Labrador had been the host to five Mini Coopers s and one Subaru this past weekend.
Twelve people drove the six cars from New Hampshire, up through Quebec and on to the end of the TLH in North West River. They then did a big u-e and headed right back again.
Interviewed in Lab. City on their way home by CBC Radio [no link], one driver said "they do a trip like this every winter. Last year it was to Newfoundland, the year before up to Hudson Bay". He added that “the Coopers handled the roads well being low slung, but you do feel the bumps a little bit”, no kidding?
"This trip only had one incident where the Subaru had to pull one of the Coopers out after it ran off the road into a snow bank".
CBC’s Tony Dawson had some video of the cars zooming and zipping around Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The clips were shown on Here & Now last night [no link].
What ever turns you on eh? Must have looked some strange in the land of big 4x4 vehicles.
The province has given the go ahead for winter drilling into a lake outside Makkovik.
http://tinyurl.com/preview.php?num=yvrj3n Not good news IMO.
Nunatsiavut Government had come out against the drilling on the frozen lake. The land is inside the Labrador Inuit settlement Area, but their protestations were not listened to. No surprise their.
It’s way past time for an open discussion about this potential mine/mines. Like it is uranium folks. It does not go away after it is mined and processed. It just gets more deadly as the decades go by.
So, as people who have such a close spiritual and cultural relationship with the land, it would not be amiss if the nice folks of Nunatsiavut lead the way in some progressive thinking on this issue.
It is not a sin to be against jobs and for the protection of the environment, especially when uranium is the end product.
5 comments:
Not quite got that tinyurl right. Can do away with the "preview.php?num=" and it will go straight to the link and not Tinyurl.
Yup, working on it when time and gray matter permits.
I don't think it's been articulated yet how important mining has been to the history of Northern Labrador. It's the hidden mover in history.
Here's a few bits from the memory hole, to steal a wallyism:
Check out this one from Ramah, 1901. Sound familiar?
"Mining operations have recently commenced in the vicinity of Ramah, iron ore and sulphur having been found in one of the bays. Most of the Ramah men found employment as long as the work was carried on last summer, and our Hopedale brethren report that several families from that station intend migrating northwards when next year operations are resumed. It is, however, doubted by some whether our people will stick to this kind of work for any length of time, and it is thought likely that miners will be brought from Newfoundland." (PA V.2.4 Dec 1901 p.586)
*
"...A persusal of the Periodical Accounts from the Labrador missions between 1951 and 1961 yielded frequent, hopeful references from missionaries at several stations that exploration underway by several companies would create wage employment for Inuit. In 1956 the superintendent himself wrote, “The presence of minerals in this country holds some hope for the future. It is possible that there will be movements of population in Labrador within a few years and that the centre of our work will move south, possibly to the Goose Bay area…I believe that we can have great hopes for the future, but of this I am certain—that the old way of life is passing and that before many years have passed the Eskimo hunter and fisherman will have adapted himself to a new way of living.” (PA 1956 39)
Elsewhere the missionary for Makkovik (Br. Vollprecht) wrote of the exploration underway there by the Brinex company: “Concerning the future of our village we can say it looks bright. The Brinco (British Newfoundland Corporation) has continued prospecting in our area and found a place where they hope to find a good supply of Uranium, called Long Hill. We do not know whether our hopes of the mine working this year will be fulfilled. The prospecting on Monkey Hill is not yet finished. So far we do not know whether we shall someday have to move a little farther north or whether we shall remain here between the two places.” (PA 1958 16.) The same year, the missionary for Hopedale recorded the same hope: “We hope that the reports of mining in the Makkovik area will materialize, as that may give our people a chance of regular employment.” (PA 1958 22.) The Nain missionary concurred: “Recent discoveries of minerals in the Makkovik and kippokak area lead us to think that the day may not be too far distant when the people of the coast may be able to earn a good living wage.” (PA 1958 24.)
By 1959/1960 the missionaries were still contemplating the great hope that was Brinco (then Brinex)although the bloom had certainly come off: “The main hope for improving the local economy still lies in BRINEX, the company that is exploring mineral resources of Labrador. They have taken an interest in Labradorite which is to be found near Nain. We understand that they may be mining this to use as building material. This may bring some benefit, but not too much is expected of it. There is still hope that something of real value may be found…” (PA 1960 9.) So by 1959—the year Hebron was closed—even the missionaries appear to have recognized that a mining play is, after all, a liar standing over a hole in the ground."
"the year Hebron was closed—even the missionaries appear to have recognized that a mining play is, after all, a liar standing over a hole in the ground."
Love that, met many of those lying barstards.
Brinex screwed any hope of Tabor Island deposit being used in any large commercial way, they blasted the whole area. Even screwed it up for any chance of using it semi precious area.
Interesting history there my man. Lot’s of new material to many I would guess. One thing stands out though, even though Inuit new of many of these deposits there was no great rush to “exploit” them.
Lot’s of exploiters to do that eh? Amen.
Some MINI pics
stylizedfacts.com/coruscation/newfoundland.
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