Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 03/01) - To say the events of Sept. 11 had far-reaching consequences would be to understate their impact.

But who would have thought terrorists in New York would spell doom for a thousand Northwest Territories rocks?

Dawn Mangelana with her son Christien look at the rocks on display at the airport. - Nathan VanderKlippe/NNSL photo

By May 15, a display of the North's geological richness will disappear from the Yellowknife airport arrivals area. It is being squeezed out by expansions to the departures security area.

The airport plans to revamp the pre-boarding area, adding a second security lane, with an X-ray machine, and a device to scan for explosives.

"When we have more than 80 passengers waiting in line, we are experiencing a lot of delays," said airport manager Michel LaFrance.

The display was created by the Walter A. Gibbins Foundation last August.

Inside the case, which was designed for the airport location, are rocks like astrophyllite, vermiculite and feldspar porphyry. There are also other minerals, like serpentine breccia -- found at the Yellowknife dump -- and marcasite pyrite from the Nanisivik mine.

Many of the specimens are from the personal collection of Gibbins, a long-time geologist for the NWT geology division of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

He died in 1992, but left behind a vast collection of findings from across the North.

"As a geologist when you go to a place you tend to collect samples," said local prospector Walt Humphries, who created the display. And Gibbins had access to the entire North in his job, meaning he brought together a fairly comprehensive body of samples.

"If you had it replaced it would cost you a fortune," said Humphries.

Humphries said he was "shocked" when he heard the display would need to be moved. The airport is a prime location for the rocks because hundreds of thousands of people move through every year.

It's also a major crossroads for people from across the NWT, which is key: Humphries wants this to be a teaching tool for the entire North.

"I can understand if it has to be moved. But in the same token, we built it for the airport. It's unfortunate this came about," he said.

For his part, LaFrance is apologetic.

"We're not doing this with pleasure. We have to make choices. Certainly it kind of took them by surprise, but we want to do our renovations this summer."

LaFrance said the display could be brought back to the airport once the building is expanded.

But that expansion is still in the steering committee phase, with no set date of completion.

At least one passenger will miss the display.

"Every time I come, I always have a look and see what's new," said Dawn Mangelana, who was waiting to pick up a relative.