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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It's not a sure thing yet, but it seems a proposed wood pellet manufacturing plant has a good chance of being located in Enterprise.

Hay River businessman Brad Mapes, the proponent of a wood pellet manufacturing plant for the NWT, points to a map during a public meeting in Enterprise on Jan. 23. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Brad Mapes, the Hay River businessman behind the idea, appeared at a Jan. 23 public meeting in the hamlet.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he told the 26 community residents gathered for the meeting. "I definitely would like to see the plant in Enterprise."

Mapes said locating the plant in Enterprise – actually about four km north of the hamlet on Highway 1, but within its corporate limits – would benefit the community and nearby Hay River.

The target date to start constructing the plant is June 1 with the aim of being in production by next year.

Mapes requested a letter from hamlet council stating it supported the project.

Council will discuss the request at its next meeting on Feb. 6, but the decision seems to be a formality.

"Everybody was pretty receptive to the idea, I felt," said Mayor Mike St. Amour following the Jan. 23 meeting.

The mayor said he is pretty sure council will offer the letter of support and that there is a lot of support throughout the community.

"It will be pretty big. It will be huge," he said of the proposed project, adding not just Enterprise will benefit, but Hay River, Fort Providence and other communities. "It will create a lot of jobs."

Enterprise resident Amy Mercredi also backs the project.

"It's really awesome that there's finally something happening and people are together," she said.

Enterprise Deputy Mayor Jim Dives was also upbeat following the public meeting.

"I think the vibe from tonight is very positive towards Brad coming here," he said.

Dives said he personally supports the project and thinks it will be a good opportunity for the community to develop and grow, along with creating spin-off business opportunities.

The deputy mayor said, if the population – now just under 100 – increases to more than 100 as a result of the project, the community may qualify to have a permanent post office and there may be opportunities for someone to set up a small grocery store or a convenience store.

Mapes said there would be 50 workers at the plant, and he estimated about 10 of them would live in Enterprise while the rest would likely live in Hay River and elsewhere.

Dives said 10 workers in Enterprise could mean a population increase of about 30 for the hamlet.

Mapes is seeking to get at least 140 hectares of land, and preferably 200 hectares.

An application to lease the land has to be made to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

After the public meeting, Mapes said Enterprise is a "preferred location" for the plant.

However, he is also looking at other possible locations.

"I kind of have to look at a few other locations in case something happens," he explained. "If the community comes back and says, 'No, we don't want it,' or we can't get that big of a parcel of land."

Mapes said the plant will be built somewhere along Highway 1 between Fort Providence and Enterprise.

He said a site on the south side of the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence would be ideal, because it would mean a larger harvesting area, but that site would mean problems with labour supply and logistics.

The idea is to harvest trees within a profitable 175 km radius of the plant, although that could be extended to 250-300 km if waterways are used and raw material is moved by barge.

Mapes told the Enterprise meeting that harvesting will benefit many communities, especially Fort Providence and Jean Marie River, but also places such as Fort Resolution.

There would be an estimated 200 jobs in harvesting, which would be done by contractors, along with other spin-off jobs in things like distribution and reforestation.

"There's no clear cutting," Mapes said. "There will be selective cutting, but you are definitely going to see a difference in the terrain in certain areas."

In Hay River, the idea is to store pellets in barges to move across Great Slave Lake to Yellowknife.

Mapes is confident the project will go ahead, noting there has been a very good response, including from First Nations.

"Definitely, the First Nations play a huge part in it," he said. "It's their land and resources."

Mapes said there will be resource agreements with First Nations for access to their areas, adding the project will also provide the GNWT with new revenues.

The overall project would involve $12 million of capital expenditure for equipment, another $3 million in building costs, and operating costs of more than $15 million per year.

"There's absolutely no government funds. There's no grants, nothing," Mapes said, noting he and some other investors are behind the project, and he will seek bank financing.

The plant would begin by producing 60,000 tons of pellets a year and could up production to 100,000 tons.

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