SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road - the principal means by which the NWT's three diamond mines are resupplied over the winter season - closed to all traffic on Wednesday.

In total, 3,506 loads of fuel, cement and other supplies weighing 121,000 tonnes were carried up the road by trucks travelling to the Diavik, Ekati and Snap Lake diamond mines – in line with earlier estimates. An additional 424 backhauls – loads coming back from the mines – were transported.

"Overall it was a success. We had no accidents this year," said Erik Madsen, director of winter road operations for Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.

The total number of northbound loads and backhauls has declined every year since 2007, a record season during which the joint venture recorded 11,740 loads (including backhauls) weighing 330,002 tonnes.

In 2008, traffic transported 8,374 northbound loads and backhauls weighing 245,585 tonnes, while last year saw the delivery of 5,377 northbound loads and backhauls clocking in at 173,195 tonnes.

This year, the Diavik mine – which officially began underground production yesterday – trucked in 1,344 loads of fuel, cement, explosives, equipment and other materials, accounting for 38 per cent of loads.

De Beers Canada transported 890 loads to its Snap Lake diamond mine, accounting for 25 per cent of loads.

"That total included 661 trucks carrying 26.5 million litres of fuel and lubricants to the mine," said Cathie Bolstad, spokesperson for the mine, via e-mail. "The 229 loads of freight brought to the mine totalled 5.6 million kilograms. Freight included heavy equipment, such as large surface haul trucks and a large crane.

"The haul trucks are being used to move material during construction of our East Cell, part of the environmental protection system at site. The crane will be used to assemble our new permanent accommodations this year."

The new units will be ready by October, she added.

De Beers also backhauled 210 loads of construction supplies, surplus equipment, recyclables and other materials out of Snap Lake.

"The total backhaul weighed in at 4.1 million kilograms – weighing almost as much as the freight brought to site. Some of that surplus equipment will be made available to Northern companies during an auction we expect to hold later this year," said Bolstad.

Load amounts could not be obtained from BHP Billiton as of press time. Higher-than-normal temperatures in February prompted the committee to ask drivers to refrain from driving on the road during daylight hours from March 3-16.

"The snow tends to melt during the day and the portages get soft. But driving at night, everything freezes and it's safer," said Madsen, adding, "It was a team effort."

The winter road comes with a hefty price tag.

At the first annual Strategic Northern Infrastructure Symposium in Yellowknife last October, Kim Truter, president and CEO of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., told attendees the cost of the 2009 winter road was $103 per tonne.

The road's joint venture management committee conducted a $4 million study in 2006 on the feasibility of a $190 million overland route requiring two and half years of construction. But according to Truter, the members ultimately shelved the project due to capital costs considered excessive for mines in the second half of their lives.

The Deton' Cho Corporation, the business development arm of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, has expressed interest in building a similar road that would eventually end in the heart of the Slave Geological Province at the inactive Jericho Diamond Mine.