| Mining Projects Overview The use of air transport in mining development started early in Canada. Bush 
planes, like the Beaver aircraft, were crucial to the development of
gold, silver and nickel mining in northern Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.
Air transport enabled people and equipment to undertake resource exploration and development in areas that are virtually inaccessible. Roads and railway lines were eventually built to the richest of these deposits. But even today, Canada has the renown of being the largest single market for helicopter services. Despite their success, bush planes and helicopters have limitations in both payload and flight distance. Development of large-scale mines or energy exploitation was only possible in the southern fringes of the north where rail lines or road links could be built economically. Many types of cargoes are required for mine development and operations. The main categories include construction materials, fuel, equipment, machinery, cement, explosives, camp supplies, food, etc. Fuel is the largest single input requirement that limits northern development. Supply shortages of some mining provisions may be a nuisance, but a fuel shortage can be a catastrophe. A mine that is forced to shutdown its concentrator for lack of fuel may never be re-opened. The camp would face some very significant safety issues without heat and electricity.  Transporting fuel is costly and environmentally risky. Typically fuel is transported in bulk using rail, truck or barges. Mines that have no railway, gravel roads or marine access must operate using ice roads during a short winter season. Known mineral deposits and operating mines near Yellowknife, NWT is identified on Map 1. A seasonal ice road serves two operating mines and a third mine under re-development. Two of the properties are diamond mines (Ekati and Diavik) and the third is a gold property (Lupin). These mines require approximately 200 million litres of fuel, annually. The year�s supply of fuel is trucked over an ice road that operates for a 12�16 week period. In addition to the fuel, a whole year�s supply of grinding balls, explosives, plant supplies, non-perishable camp supplies, etc. must be moved over the 400-kilometer ice road. The transportation cost for fuel is about $40 million. The total cost for all freight, including building and maintaining the ice road, would be much higher. The capacity of the ice roads out of Yellowknife could easily be reached if the season shortens, one of the mines expands (which is a realistic possibility for Lupin), or another property tries to connect to the existing road. Adding more lanes over the lakes could extend capacity, but ultimately, safety concerns would impose an upper limit on traffic. Transportation Challenges Affecting Mining in the Territories Diamond and gold mines require large volumes of fuel and other supplies to be trucked in to their operations, but the monthly output can be carried out by air. This is not the case for base metal mines (copper, zinc, nickel, etc.) that have much larger volumes of outbound materials to transport. This means that for economic operations, they have better transportation service. An example is the undeveloped Izok Lake discovery that is located in central Nunavut. This mineral deposit is of world-class proportions. The grade of zinc, lead, copper and gold (16.5 million tones) would have been mined long ago, if it were accessible. This property is owned by a large publicly traded international mining company (Inmet Mining) would produce 350,000 � 400,000 tons of concentrate annually and employ 250 persons. A pre-feasibility study suggests that the mine would have a minimum life of 13 years based on known reserves.  Several major mining companies have considered developing the Izok Lake reserve but all have failed to overcome the transportation challenges associated with economically moving mining supplies, principally fuel, into the mine site and concentrates back out. Unlike a diamond or gold
mine where the finished product can be brought out in a small airplane
on a weekly basis, base-metal mines have to stockpile their inventories
for 9 to 10 months. In addition to the direct costs of ice roads, the
indirect costs of financing inventories contribute to the total
logistics costs of the mines. Inmet provided the following comparative
costs.
Isok Lake is only one example of where transportation has prevented a mine from being developed. The lack of access from mining sites to conventional transportation, such as a port, is widespread. In an attempt to resolve this issue, the Federal Government and the mining companies with interests in the area sponsored a $6 million study to consider developing an all-weather road that would connect with the existing ice roads. In addition to the commercial aspects of this project, there are important social issues. Who will pay for the road? Do the economic benefits offset environmental impacts? How will a road affect the aboriginals living in the area? Table 4: Potential projects and activities interacting with the propose project for cumulative effects
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