Ice road one-third of NWT economy
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 25/01) - It's a seasonal chain of frozen lakes and ponds, and it's being linked to a big part of the NWT's gross domestic product (GDP).
The Lupin ice road -- the resupply artery for the mineral-rich Slave Geological Province -- supports 34 per cent of the NWT GDP product, says Derek Chubb, permitting co-ordinator with BHP Diamonds, and a Lupin ice road management committee spokesperson.
The GDP is the annual measure of the value of good and services provided in a jurisdiction.
Near the end of this decade, when Lupin ice road traffic is expected to peak, the artery running from Tibbitt Lake to Echo Bay's Lupin gold mine will be linked to 56 per cent of NWT GDP, Chubb adds.
"The road supports this (mining) development which supports the GDP," said Chubb, who made a presentation Friday at Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Explorer Hotel.
Exploration projects, not included in the figures, and tourism through camp outfitters, lift the ice road's role in the NWT GDP even more, Chubb adds.
The Lupin ice road is a joint venture between BHP Diamonds, majority owner and operator of the Ekati diamond mine at Lac de Gras and Echo Bay Mines. Representatives of both companies make up the Lupin ice road management committee.
Chubb said the Lupin ice road, which can be open for up to 78 days, is able to support 12,000 loads. In 2001, a record 8,090 loads were trucked to Ekati, Lupin, Diavik and Snap Lake properties.
The 12,000 may seem well within the window of opportunity. If a truck was dispatched up the ice road every six minutes, 24 hours a day for 78 days, it would result in 18,720 truckloads of traffic.
But add possible poor ice conditions, closures from snowstorms, and above-average temperatures, and the window shrinks.
The 78-day figure factors in global warming, and there is no cap or maximum capacity number for the road.
The purpose of the road is to safely meet the resupply needs of the mining companies. And as the demand rises, the managers and builders of the road will tweak the operation to meet the demand, he said.
This means turnaround times may need to be improv-ed.
More camps along the road may be needed. The route could be improved -- made shorter. Yet another means to sharpen the artery is improving portages. Some, potentially, could be widened to allow two-way traffic.
Eighty-four per cent of the Lupin ice road is over lakes and ponds. Opened in 1982 to service the Lupin gold mine, the ice road was originally designed for 600 trucks. One-way to Lupin takes a truck driver 24 hours.
Operating the road, which created 160 direct jobs, costs about $6.7 million. Chubb said several hundred truck drivers were registered as users of the 2001 ice road.
The management committee is currently putting together its application for re-permitting of the road. The licence issued by DIAND, expires in April 2003. Re-permitting the road in 2003, land-use permits are issued each year, will require an environmental assessment by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.
