Canada's Ice Road Opens for Milestone Year

RAPAPORT... February is a crucial time for Canada's diamond mines.Located in the most remote region of the country's frozen Northwest Territories(NWT), Rio Tinto, Dominion Diamond Mines and De Beers have a two-month windowto connect their mining operations to the outside world. The winter ice road, officially known as the Tibbitt toContwoyto Winter Road (TCWR), opened on February 1, marking the 20thanniversary that the three companies have jointly run the project. The road wasfirst constructed in the 1980s to supply the Lupin gold mine, but Lupin later closed,and the diamond miners took over the project at the start of Canada's diamondrush in 1999. The route is essential for the miners to transport suppliesto their respective Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Ku?(C) mines, which are so isolated employeescan only get to work by helicopter. Without it, work in the mines wouldn't bepossible, stresses Ron Near, director of the winter road. "It was clear that if Rio Tinto was to be successful [indeveloping Diavik when it was first discovered], they would have to supplytheir proposed mine using the ice road," he explained in an email to RapaportNews. "Any other approach would have made construction of the mineunattainable." A race to the beginning Five contractors specializing in engineering, construction,security, safety and dispatch, build the 600 kilometer stretch at an annualcost of CAD 20 million ($15.2 million), Near says. The team of 400 workers began early construction on December15, clearing the insulating snow from the surface to promote ice growth. Themain construction crew joined on January 1, working in a 30-day window tocomplete the project in time for the opening. Their work isn't finished now that the road is operating. Theworkers must continually manipulate the ice to maintain the route for theduration of the project, while monitoring a variety of factors such as truck speed,spacing, and weight. However inconvenient the construction may seem, withoutit, mining in the area would not be financially feasible. "Resupplying the mines any other way would be costprohibited," Near notes. "[They would be] 10 to 20 times higher than using theroad." Safety in numbers Driving on the ice road can be a dangerous job, as much of thepath is built over frozen lakes. A quality-assurance program is set up tomanage the rules of the road and ensure the safety of all users, Near explains.A total of 22 security officers monitor the trucks with radar guns to make surethey don't exceed their maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour when fullyloaded. It takes 14 to 16 hours for trucks carrying nearly 300,000 tonnes offreight to travel the 400 kilometers from Yellowknife to the Ekati mine, headds. This year, 600 to 800 drivers in more than 8,300 trucks willmake the journey to and from the mines, dispatched from Yellowknife every 20minutes, according to Near. They work in teams of up to four, since the driversare not allowed to travel the winter road alone and there are three road campsset up along the route to provide drivers with food, bathing facilities andemergency maintenance services. 20 years together As an incentive, the three companies give out 16 safetyawards of CAD 1,500 ($1,138) to deserving drivers every year. To mark the road's20th anniversary they're adding five CAD 5,000 ($3,792) prizes to specialdrivers nominated by their contractor companies. In addition, eachparticipating mine will donate a diamond that will be awarded to three workerson the project who have shown dedication, support and innovation to make theproject safer and better, Near relates. The companies recognize that the workers' efforts are almost exclusively for the benefit of their mines since their is very little other activity in the vast region, and they have a very limited period in which to work. "[The road] is also used to support other explorationprojects, tourist camps and private vehicles, [but] there are no communitiesoff the road - only the large diamond mines," he stresses. "After theproject ends, the road eventually melts, and we start all over again the nextyear." Image: The Tibbett to Contwoyto Winter Road. (Rio Tinto)