An Inuit organisation in the territory of Nunavut in northern Canada has voted against backing the planned expansion of a contentious iron ore mine, after local Inuit communities raised staunch opposition to the proposal. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) said in a statement on Friday that its board of directors passed a resolution to not support the expansion of the Mary River mine on Baffin Island, in the Arctic Archipelago. The QIA is mandated to protect Inuit rights and interests in the area. The company in charge of the mine, Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation, had proposed doubling its output from six to 12 million tonnes a year, and building a 110km railway connecting the site to a port, as well as a second port dock from which to ship the material.