BAFFIN
An ice strip landing more than 2,100-metres long has been constructed approximately eight kilometres northwest of the primary all-weather runway servicing Baffinland Iron Mines’ Mary River project.

An aerial view of Baffinland Mines' Mary River project site on Baffin Island. The site is only accessible by air or sea. While the existing landing strip is being upgraded to accommodate anticipated increases in volume, a temporary ice landing strip has been built. - NNSL file photo

Completed last month, the temporary landing site is expected to be used until about the end of April while the site's permanent airstrip is being lengthened and upgraded, according to the company's website.

By late April, the permanent runway will be ready to support construction and other activities related to the site, located approximately 160 kilometres south of Pond Inlet and 1,000 kilometres northwest of Iqaluit on Baffin Island.

The project, which contains one of the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposits, is only accessible by water or flight.

In order to land a 737-class aircraft, ice needs to be thicker than 119 centimetres. The ice is now reported to be almost 178 centimetres thick, according to the company, and is expected to continue to gain thickness until April.

A trial cargo flight was landed on Feb. 7. The pilots reported the ice landing strip to be in better shape than many land-based runways.

“Safety is our top priority,” stated Erik Madsen, vice-president of sustainability, health, safety and environment for Baffinland, in a news release issued by the company last week.

Madsen, who worked on the world’s largest industrial ice road serving the diamond mines in the NWT for years, describes the ice landing as a highly regulated and researched practice.

“This is really nothing new," he added. "Landing an aircraft of this size has been done safely before in the north, but you need the experts to do it. All applicable permits were obtained and the lighting is Transport Canada approved.”

The Mary River project is described by Baffinland as one of the largest and richest undeveloped iron ore projects in the world. The open pit mine, once productive, could produce between 18 and 30 million tonnes of ore per year.