Project Summary
The Bathurst Port and Road Project lies entirely within the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, and is considered crucial infrastructure for the local communities and expansion of the region’s mining and economic growth. The Project would be owned and operated by Inuit companies and would provide much needed economic development for Nunavut communities.
The Project entails construction of a port on Bathurst Inlet and a 211 km all-weather road to Contwoyto Lake that would link to the existing Yellowknife to Contwoyto Winter Road (YCWR).
The Project has received strong support from the Kitikmeot Inuit and both political and financial support from the Government of Nunavut and from the Federal Government through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Background
The Project is located in the Slave Geological Province (SGP), which includes all of the mining developments to date between Yellowknife and the Arctic coast. The full mineral potential of this area has not yet been realized due for the most part to the lack of transportation infrastructure.
The only road transportation infrastructure developed within SGP is the YCWR from Yellowknife to the Tahera diamond mine, also servicing the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines and other developing diamond projects in the NWT. The YCWR capacity is limited by weather and by the additional trucking requirements for the new diamond projects. Transporting fuel and supplies through a port at Bathurst Inlet could provide certainty of supply routes and reductions in operating costs for these mines.
Prior to June 2000, extensive work including hydrographical studies for shipping routes, road route planning and economic studies had already been undertaken to advance the Project. In June 2000, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) organized the stakeholders and formed a Technical Committee to manage the project and move it forward. The engineering feasibility studies and baseline environmental studies required for permitting and construction were largely completed in late 2002, with further studies carried out in 2004/5.
A Project Description was submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) in May 2003 that included the construction and operation of port facilities at Bathurst Inlet and a 211 km all-weather road from Bathurst Inlet to the YCWR at Contwoyto Lake.
On September 23, 2003 NIRB provided a Screening Decision recommending a public review be held for the project. On May 4, 2004 the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development referred the project for a Part 5 review under Article 12 of the Nunavut land Claim Agreement (NLCA). Following public scoping meetings held in Yellowknife and Kitikmeot communities, the Project received the Final Guidelines for the Environmental Impact Statement from NIRB in December 2004.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be submitted to NIRB in the 3rd quarter of 2007, to start the permitting process.
Economic Effects of the Project in the Kitikmeot Region
It is estimated that Project construction will occur over a 16 month period and create 2,800 man-months of employment. Project operations will create 31 seasonal jobs each year and requires the services of up to 150 contracted truck drivers per year. Much of the new employment opportunities can go to the workforce resident in the Kitikmeot Region which currently has an unemployment rate of more than 25%; with aggressive training for the employment needs of the Project, most of the payroll money would stay in the region.
The cost of diesel fuel landed in Cambridge Bay from the port in Bathurst Inlet could be reduced substantially. The cost of freight from the south by truck to the port on winter road and barge to Cambridge Bay would be competitive with freight costs via Hay River and the goods would arrive in the community four to six weeks earlier; early in the construction season rather than at the end of summer.
The Project will reduce the cost of fuel and supplies for any commercial venture in the Kitikmeot communities, especially a mine in the Project area. It is expected that the Project will reduce the cost of living in the region and stimulate new mineral exploration and production in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut and so create many new employment and business opportunities for the residents and businesses of the region.
In addition, economic studies have shown that any project in northern Canada has considerable spin-off effects in the south, in terms of indirect jobs and supply of materials.
Project Construction
The Project requires the use of Federal Crown Lands and Inuit Owned Lands. The port is located on Crown Land. The port site will include a wharf to serve large ice class vessels; a dock to handle barges serving the Kitikmeot communities; 150 person camp and services; 180 million litre diesel fuel tank farm and an airstrip for small aircraft.
Port construction can be completed within 18 months from the first summer sealift. Road construction can be completed within two years, working from both Contwoyto Lake and Bathurst Inlet.
Project Operations
The Project’s annual operating schedule will reflect the seasons of the arctic environment. Marine shipping will be carried out between mid-July and late-October. Ice breaker support may be required as with other arctic projects, however, this shipping schedule can be accomplished without ice breaking to extend the normal shipping season. Marine barge operations will also supply fuel and general cargo to the Kitikmeot communities.
The road, although designed and constructed for all-weather use, will operate from January to April and connect with the existing YCWR from Yellowknife to haul fuel and supplies to the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines in NWT, and the Jericho diamond mine in Nunavut. No hauling will occur during the period from the end of April to late December.
Project Interactions with the Environment
The effect of road construction on fish habitat will be negligible. On the land, animals will always have the right of way over traffic on the road. The most common animal in the Project area is caribou of the Bathurst caribou herd. During spring migration almost all of the animals in the herd could move through the Project area. The road will not operate between May and December, thus there will be no interaction between road traffic and caribou during the spring and fall migrations; there will be very few caribou along the road during the winter hauling seasons. Hunting and fishing by workers will be guided by the recommendations in the West Kitikmeot Land Use Plan. The Project will be built and will operate in a safe and environmentally sound manner.
Project Financing
The Project will be financed and developed as a Public Private Partnership (P3), where the cost and risks of the Project can be shared between the public and private sectors. Port fees and road tolls will provide revenue for the Project. The Project is technically practical, economically sustainable and bankable under a P3 arrangement.
The entire Project Description, in PDF format, can be downloaded here.