Shipping lane could prompt boom north of Yellowknife

The MV Arctic set sail this week from Halifax en route to the Nanisivik terminal on Baffin Island to pick up about 25,000 tonnes of lead and zinc concentrates before heading to Europe. In June, the ship will dock at the Polaris mine on Little Cornwallis Island, the most northerly mine in Canada, to pick up the first of three or four shipments of concentrates this year.

Although other ships are chartered to move a total of 100,000 tonnes from the Nanisivik mine and more than 250,000 tonnes from Polaris, it is the unique ice-breaking ability of the MV Arctic that makes it so valuable. It is the first ship into these frigid waters in the spring and can return as late as December.

The ship provides a reliable and economical method of moving goods in and out of the arctic, and that is essential to mining companies considering new developments in the far north.

Canarctic Shipping of Ottawa, the consortium of private business and the federal government that owns the MV Arctic, sent the ship into Deception Bay on the northern tip of Quebec’s Ungava Peninsula in March, 1990, improving the feasibility of development for Falconbridge of the Raglan nickel property. Using a vessel such as this would extend the shipping season to 9-10 months, rather than the ice-free period lasting only a few weeks during the summer. Falconbridge is, however, waiting for stronger nickel markets before committing itself to development.

Canarctic is now in the middle of a $400,000 study to determine the prospects for shipping to the Coronation Gulf, between the western edge of the Northwest Territories and Victoria Island. The cost will be paid largely by mineral producers who have nearby deposits in various stages of exploration. If results of the study, due out by December, indicate that reliable and economical transport can be provided, it could spur new mineral development in the area.

Bob Gilroy, manager of engineering for Echo Bay Mines (TSE) says mining companies interested in the study include Echo Bay, Continental Pacific Resources (VSE) (which holds a number of claims including those at Run Lake), Kennecott Canada (High Lake property), Homestake Canada (George Lake), BHP-Utah Mines (Ulu) and Minnova (TSE) (which owns the most promising deposit, at Izok Lake).

Also supporting the study are Canarctic, the Northwest Territories’ Department of Transport, the federal Department of Indian and Northern Development and Nor-Terra Inc., an enterprise interested in barging. “Izok Lake really precipitated this whole thing,” said Gilroy. “Echo Bay had an interest in it, but when we costed it out, transport was a stumbling block.”

The Izok Lake copper-zinc property was sold earlier this year by Falconbridge to Minnova. Metall Mining (TSE) recently agreed in principle to purchase 40% of the project from Minnova.

“If shipping can be developed, it will benefit more than this single property,” Gilroy pointed out. The cost of supplying remote communities with goods and particularly with fuel, a cost now borne by government, would drop. Canarctic was created in 1976 to develop arctic shipping expertise. It is supported 51% by the federal government and 49% by North Water Navigation, a consortium of Upper Lakes Shipping, Canada Steamship Lines and Fednav. Canarctic’s ship, MV Arctic, is Canada’s foremost ice-breaking cargo ship, rated Class 4. It slices through 1-metre-thick ice at a steady eight knots per hour and can even force its way through 2-metre-thick ice. The ship was built in 1978 as a bulk carrier. It also shipped the concentrator barge to the Polaris site on Little Cornwallis Island. In 1985, it was converted to a tanker, and can transport either type of cargo today. When not shipping mineral concentrates in the arctic, it is used to ship oil. It was strengthened and the bow replaced in 1986.

“The new bow increased its ice-breaking ability considerably,” said Captain Andrew Taylor, Canarctic’s vice-president of operations. “The ice class was raised to Class 4 from Class 2.”

The class rating is linked to ice conditions in various zones and allows shipment between prescribed dates. New regulations now being drawn would replace fixed dates with actual ice conditions.

Canarctic’s Coronation Gulf study is centred on environmental concerns, but with a 2-sided approach to the question, explained Bob Gorman, manager of arctic operations. Besides the conventional look at the effect of shipping on native wildlife and communities, it is important to study the effect of the ice environment on shipping.

Gorman has gone back to basics, looking intently at ice and weather conditions recorded by satellite since 1974. From this information he has mapped breakup, consolidation (freezeup) and minimum ice patterns. Varying ice conditions are interpreted from SAR (synthetic aperture radar) photos of the area. It is possible to estimate the thickness, age and surface conditions of the ice. A course is plotted through the smoothest and youngest ice. Ridged or multi-year ice, which is routinely 3-5 metres thick, is avoided.

For a ship to enter Coronation Gulf from the east, it will have to navigate the maze of old ice in Lancaster Sound. Coming from the west, a vessel would enjoy deep water in Prince of Wales Strait and Melville Sound to the north of Victoria Island, but would encounter shallow depths at the mouth of the gulf. Ice conditions around Coronation Gulf are considered difficult although the south coast enjoys a relatively long ice-free season from early July until late October.

“The area would have been developed 100 years ago if it were ice-free,” Gorman said, adding that one or two ships a year do journey through the gulf. The study will assess the suitability of a route for various classes of ships. Consideration will be given to rebuilding an existing ship or commissioning a new vessel, keeping in mind that there is an optimum size that will be economical to operate but will not run aground in shallow water. Little is known of the bottom profile in Coronation Gulf because it is so seldom travelled. The Canadian Hydrographic Service would be asked to conduct more thorough bathymetric surveys of the area before shipping began. Thought will be given to locations for a terminal or terminals. Under consideration are locations near Coppermine, at Inman Harbour and in Bathurst Inlet (which would be closest to the Izok Lake deposit).