Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 19/01) - Ice and weather conditions are holding stable as dozens of truckloads of fuel and heavy equipment inch their way up the Lupin ice road.
"The road is still up to full weight," said Kirk McLellan, Echo Bay logistics manager. "Every day is a new record."
Each year, Echo Bay Mines, which owns the Lupin gold mine in the Kitikmeot, hires Nuna Logistics to build the ice road. The road is the supply artery for the Lupin, Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake mining projects.
As of last weekend, 5,000 loads had been trucked up the 567-kilometre ice road. About 80 per cent of the route is over frozen lakes.
Last Wednesday night was a record night, adds McLellan. That night, 191 truck loads were dispatched up the ice road, which starts at the end of the Ingraham Trail, northeast of Yellowknife.
A truck was dispatched every five minutes.
If all companies get what they want, about 7,500 loads will be trucked up the road this season.
Last year, about 4,000 loads were hauled up the artery.
Based on the latest numbers, about 120 loads are being trucked up the ice road every day. When the road first opened, loads had to be lighter due to ice conditions.
Based on 5,000 loads dispatched and the estimated 7,500 loads requested, the ice road will likely need to be operational until the end of the first week in April, or about 63 days after its opening in early February.
Last year, the road closed April 5. An early April cold snap which included a drop in temperatures to -30 C helped extend the 2000 ice road season.
