Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 14/01) - The old vision of a deep seaport at Bathurst Inlet is beginning to crystallize.
A pair of studies aimed at developing the details of the project are about to begin. Once complete, the studies will form the basis of a proposal Kitikmeot leaders hope to put before regulators early next year.
"I wish it could go faster, but it can't," said Charlie Lyall, president of the Kitikmeot Corporation. "God knows, the people here need the jobs."
Two years ago, there was a race on between the East and the West about which would be built first, the port or an all-weather road from the North Slave to the metal- and mineral-rich Contwoyto Lake area. Leaders in Yellowknife and Rae were arguing over which community should be the departure point for the road.
While work on the seaport concept proceeds, the "road to resources" appears to have been overshadowed by the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline.
A GNWT official said the only attention being paid to the road at this time is a economic impact study for the Conference Board of Canada. The study is expected to be completed within a few months.
A GNWT study completed in the fall of 1999 estimated the cost of building the road at between $380 million and $440 million. Preliminary estimates put the price of the port and its roads at no more than $150 million.
The cost of the port-associated roads would be paid over time through a toll, said project manager Tony Keen. Committee representatives have had preliminary discussions with financial institutions aimed at exploring financing options.
At this time, the main justification for the port is the development of a base-metal mine at Izok Lake, located 83 kilometres west of the Lupin mine. The area is believed to contain one of the richest deposits of zinc, copper, lead and silver in North America.
The plan is to ship in fuel and equipment. The same vessels would take ore concentrates south for processing.
Keen said the committee has been in discussion with the operators of both the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines that lie south of the Inlet.
The port could also be used as a fuel depot for Kitikmeot communities. Proponents say if it is built, the seaport would spur development of other claims in the area and create much-needed jobs in the region.
The detailed engineering study of the proposal is being done by Nishi-Khon/SNC Lavalin. The environmental study has yet to be commissioned.
A technical committee composed of representatives of the Kitikmeot Corporation, Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Nuna Logistics, Inmet Mining Corporation (which owns the Izok claim) and the Nunavut government has yet to determine how the $6 million cost of the studies will be shared.
A hydrographic survey revealed it is suitable for a deep seaport.
The engineering study will include a detailed analysis of the economic feasibility of the project. If it shows the project is feasible, information from both studies would be used to assemble a project description. Submission of a project description would trigger an environmental assessment.
Keen said the committee hopes to begin construction in 2004. Public meetings on the project will be held in this summer, he said.
An environmental study will be critical. Bathurst Inlet is the calving ground of the Bathurst caribou herd, which Inuit have relied on for centuries.
