New film sees mining through Quebec Inuit eyes

The northern Quebec region of Nunavik is the setting for a new documentary on the tussle between Inuit survival on the land and the mining industry’s quest to dig it up.

The film Nunatta Ataani (Beneath Our Feet) was directed by Jean-Philippe Brochu with the backing of Ubique Films and the provincially financed Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund. Brochu interviews Inuit to explore the past and future of mining’s impact on local communities.

The film ranges from explorations more than a century ago, when Inuit guided prospectors, to modern debates over the environment, jobs and metals to fuel the energy transition. Along the way there’s the former Asbestos Hill mine with its toxic output, and current projects like Glenore’s (LSE: GLEN) Raglan nickel mine, Chinese-owned Canadian Royalties’ Nunavik nickel mine, and the study-stage Strange Lake open pit rare earths mine proposed by privately held Torngat Metals.

“The mining industry will come whether we like it or not,” says Putulik Kenuayuak, an underground miner at Raglan mine. “Are we going to be observers like we have been for many decades? Or are we going to be the ones dictating how our region is accessed? So, it’s crucially important that we get young people more involved.”

The region, considered one of the world’s largest underexplored areas, has seen a doubling of claims in recent years to 50,000, says a provincial official in the film. The camera joins a prospecting team from Midland Exploration (TSXV: MD) hammering into an old lake bed to find gold. The explorer’s projects have drawn majors such as Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO).