GUEST COLUMN (January 20, 1992)

A proposal to access the vast mineral resources of the Coronation Gulf area in the Northwest Territories holds the promise to provide from hundreds to thousands of jobs to northern residents, and can reduce the cost of living in northern communities.

The Arctic mainland south of the Coronation Gulf is a storehouse of mineral wealth. The Lupin gold mine is perhaps the best known of many gold and base metal deposits in the area, including Izok Lake, Hackett River, High Lake, Yava, Hood River and Musk.

The Lupin mine has operated as one of Canada’s lowest-cost gold producers despite its remote location. However, base metal mines produce a much higher volume of concentrates with a much lower value than gold. Thus, to make base metal deposits economic requires bulk transportation methods. As demonstrated by the experiences of other remote, northern metal mining operations, base metal deposits in the Coronation Gulf area can be economically mined if they are supplied with an adequate transportation infrastructure.

Substantial direct and indirect benefits will be realized by the development of mining in the Coronation Gulf area, including mine employment, construction and continuing operations.

Additional non-mining benefits would also accrue. For example, the cost to deliver freight and fuel to the Arctic coast by deep water vessel will be lower than current costs. Fuel is one of the most important commodities in the north, for it provides energy to run vehicles and electrical generating plants, as well as to heat homes and businesses. Food, clothing and construction materials are equally important to northerners. Decreased freight, fuel and supply costs would result in an improved standard of living.

To pass the benefits of reduced costs to local community residents will require a refocused local transportation network.

Over the years, northern transportation has built up a great deal of expertise in northern marine shipping using shallow draft vessels. This northern company is well-positioned and well-qualified to establish a regional centre of operations at the new port facility, from which to ship cheaper fuel and supplies over much shorter distances to the local communities.

The scope of development in the Coronation Gulf area holds the potential to tap the available resources in the Northwest Territories, but it will require additional expertise from southern Canada.

The first priority is to ascertain whether in fact the area can be reached using known ice-breaking cargo carrier technology and at what cost. CanArctic Shipping has proposed a study to determine whether a feasible transportation corridor for deep-water shipping exists. If such a corridor does exist, their study then proposes to identify the preferred design of a new vessel. This will determine the cost to build and to operate the vessel. The study as a whole will lead to a cost/ton to ship to and from the Coronation Gulf, an important cost figure for mining companies to use to determine the feasibility of mining their deposits.

Second, a study must be undertaken to establish a location for a deep-water port facility. Responsibility for the financing of the port must be established in order to determine what, if any, costs will be passed on to the user.

The third step will be to derive a cost to access mineral deposits. Individual property owners, using the costs of transportation established above, will conduct feasibility studies of their deposits to determine their economic viability.

Finally, training programs for northerners must be planned to take maximum advantage of resource development.

Through the development of its rich mineral potential, the Coronation Gulf area holds the potential to substantially benefit the economy of the Northwest Territories and the social development of its residents.