The glint of ambient light through champagne flutes offered a pleasant contrast to the sea of finely tailored black and navy suits that floated about at a reception for global mining giant Rio Tinto PLC, as the company’s board of directors met in St. John’s in early September.

The food and drinks were fully subsidized by the provincial government, and natural resources minister Shawn Skinner told executives of his hopes for significant economic benefits from Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore Co. of Canada subsidiary in the years ahead.

Iron Ore Co. is studying whether or not to double its production to 50 million tonnes per year from the current 22 million tonnes. But that’s only part of the plans for massive expansion of mining activities in or near Labrador by several companies.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., which acquired Wabush Mines with the 2011 acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd., is ramping up production at the nearby Bloom Lake mine in northeastern Quebec.

In April, Alderon Resource Corp. announced the commercial viability of its Kami iron ore project, located six kilometres south of Wabush, near Labrador City. If Alderon decides to proceed, a mine would begin operating in 2015.

There also may be another huge iron ore development: New Millennium Capital Corp.’s proposed mines in Labrador and Shefferville, Que. New Millennium describes its reserves in Labrador and Quebec as the largest undeveloped iron ore deposit in the world.

The frenetic pace of exploration and development in western Labrador comes while feasibility studies continue on the proposed Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in central Labrador. Teams of engineers from SNC Lavalin Group Inc., which is on contract with Nalcor Energy, have been working in Labrador since late spring on engineering, procurement and construction management for the project.

While this is all positive news, the surge of new arrivals in Labrador is placing significant strain on communities. In Labrador City, available hotel rooms are scarce and rents on homes have jackknifed to $3,500 per month, thanks to the influx of mining contractors.

The skyrocketing cost of living in western Labrador and the lack of affordable housing has led to an acute labour shortage, particularly in the lower-wage service sector — even the relatively well-paid mine workers can hardly make ends meet.

Unfortunately, the shortage of housing and lack of municipal infrastructure cannot be solved by the cash-strapped towns of Labrador West and Wabush alone. Yet, so far, the provincial government has done little to address the needs of these rapidly growing communities.

The issue of housing should be of particular concern to the mining companies that seem poised to push ahead with their expansion plans over the next five years. Work camps may be fine for short-term projects, but not for major mining operations lasting several decades.

This issue must be quickly addressed if delays are to be avoided. IE