Governments quiet on Salmita mine airstrip
1,500 square feet removed from airstrip; industry and YKDFN not consulted on change
Emelie Peacock
Northern News Services
Friday, June 30, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The federal government's remediation division in the NWT and the GNWT remain silent on what is happening with an airstrip at a former mine site 240 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife.
An aerial photo, taken in June, shows the airstrip at the old Salmita Mine. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada is in charge of the remediation efforts in the area about 250 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife. - photo courtesy of NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines |
A portion of a 5,000-square-foot airstrip at Salmita mine in the Courageous Lake area has been removed, according to the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. During a flyover in June, photos were taken showing a 1,500-square-foot portion of the airstrip gone.
Tom Hoefer, executive director of the chamber, said there was no consultation with industry about the shortening of the airstrip.
He said a shorter airstrip prevents large aircraft from landing, pushing up the costs of exploration and mining activity in the resource-rich area.
The NWT contaminated sites division for Indigenous Affairs and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) did not comment on the airstrip being shortened by press time.
Hoefer said the federal government proposed to take fill from the airstrip for a remediation project in 2011. At that time, Hoefer said, Seabridge Gold and the chamber advised them not to go ahead with it as the airstrip was a valuable piece of infrastructure.
The area around Courageous Lake was then designated federal lands during the devolution agreement.
NWT MP Michael McLeod said he is aware there is a cleanup in the area and knows the government is using a portion of the old airport for remediation.
"My understanding is that they were using a portion of the end, they're taking the gravel from the end of the runway ... to do remediation clean-up of another area," McLeod said.
"There's no other source of gravel, so if (the chamber) is suggesting they should go crush new gravel, or open up a new pit, who is paying for use of that airport?"
NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines president Gary Vivian said there are several locations containing the same sand and gravel that is beneath the Salmita airstrip, including one southeast of the
strip.
"(That) would have been great contaminated fill material, but they chose not to do that because they probably would have been forced to go through a permitting process to access that material," he said.
Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Ernest Betsina said the band uses the area around the remediation project for hunting and trapping. As chief, he said he was not informed about the shortening of the airstrip.
"To me, it seems to be a real safety issue, you know, the safety of the workers, the pilot, everyone in the plane. If (the runway) is 1,500 feet short, it could cause problems," he said.
"I can see the problems coming."
Hoefer said the Courageous Lake greenstone belt around the airstrip houses immense mineral potential, including one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada.
One company currently working in the area is Seabridge Gold. The company did not have a representative available to comment as of press time, yet the company's description of the exploration project references "year-round access available by air" via the Salmita airstrip.
Hoefer said to advance the gold project, the company will need an airstrip capable of landing a Herc aircraft, adding all mines have this size of airstrip to be able to accommodate Hercs and jet aircraft such as Boeing 737s.
As for cost, Hoefer said an estimate of reconstructing the airstrip could hit $10 million and involve a regulatory process.
Cory Vanthuyne, MLA for Yellowknife North and chair of the GNWT's standing committee on economic development and environment, said the airstrip is integral to the area's economic future.
He said remediation plans would have been discussed "at length" with the territorial government prior to devolution to clarify who carried responsibility after devolution.
Premier Bob McLeod and Infrastructure Minister Wally Schumann were not available as of press time to provide answers on whether the GNWT was consulted on the airstrip or whether they consider it a loss of infrastructure for the territory.
Betsina said the Yellowknives Dene recently requested to be involved as monitors on all remediation projects the federal government is conducting, including Bullmoose, Gordon Lake, Tundra, Salmita and others.
He said INAC has expressed their support for involvement by the First Nation in the Bullmoose project.
"Hopefully, we'll see this commitment realized as real improvement in indigenous-based monitoring in the near future," he said.
The chamber sent a letter last week to the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi requesting a stop-work order on the airstrip.
Hoefer said he has yet to hear back.
