SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
If there is one thing below-average temperatures are good for it is building ice.
A transport truck navigates the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto winter road in this undated photo. The road to the mines has been open to commercial traffick since Feb. 1. Cold weather conditions this winter led to ideal ice-building conditions. - photo courtesy of Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto Winter Road Joint Venture
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While the Tibbitt-to-Contwyoto winter road did not open early this winter, the ice was much thicker at the road’s opening to commercial traffic Feb. 1 than most years, said director of road operations Ron Near.
"It's been a phenomenal year as far as ice growth goes,” said Near. “Normally, we start the road at 28 or 29 inches (of ice) and this year we opened at 34 inches and are presently up to 38 inches of ice."
Cold temperatures did make the ice more brittle, but this problem was resolved by recent warmer weather.
During the 2013 season, roughly 7,000 loads weighing an estimated 230,000 tonnes will be driven along the winter road to the Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake diamond mines. Last year, 6,551 truckloads totaling 210,188 tonnes of freight were hauled northbound into the mines.
The Tibbitt-to-Conwyoto winter road begins at the end of the Ingraham Trail, about 70 km northeast of Yellowknife, and runs about 400 km to Ekati Diamond Mine near Lac de Gras. Historically, the winter road was about 600 km long and went all the way to the now-defunct Jericho Mine on the north shore of Contwoyto Lake in Nunavut.
“We almost had it going farther north than Ekati,” Near said of road construction this year, adding there is a good chance the service road will be extended next year to the old Lupin gold mine site on the west shore of Contwoyto Lake, depending on the needs of companies involved in potential new projects in the area.
A secondary access route through Prosperous Lake, used mainly for southbound transport trucks coming back empty, opened on Feb. 11.
The entire Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto road system is only meant for transport traffic to and from the mines and is fully funded and managed by a joint venture management committee comprised of BHP Billiton, Diavik Diamond Mines and DeBeers Canada. However, the roads are inevitably also used by recreational drivers, said Near. Anyone going out on the roads past the Ingraham Trail this winter should be well prepared and equipped with a VHF radio to communicate with truckers along the way, he said.
