Port and road project on shaky ground

Neither the Kitikmeot Inuit Association nor the Government of Nunavut is taking the lead on project

By Derek Neary Northern News Services

Whether a Grays Bay port and road project — a road to mineral resources that would make numerous projects feasible — will ever come to fruition remains unclear.

The Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), although supportive, is no longer at the forefront of championing the initiative.

“KIA conducted an independent business case study of the Grays Bay port and road project. The results indicate that the only viable means to permit, build and operate the project is if the government was the proponent and funder,” stated Fred Pedersen, executive director of the KIA. “The federal government, along with key stakeholders like the GN (Government of Nunavut) and KIA, is well positioned with the resources required to complete the project. KIA remains a strong advocate of the Grays Bay road and port project and will work with the federal and territorial governments and other stakeholders to complete a road and port in the Kitikmeot region.”

In the legislative assembly on March 14, Economic Development and Transportation Minister David Akeeagok, responding to questions from Kugluktuk MLA Bobby Anavilok, said, “This project, our government has always been in a supportive role if this road is to be built. There are a number of ways that I’m trying to help see this dream come to reality.”

While meeting with federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Akeeagok said he expressed “… that Grays Bay is one of the projects that we need to see in order for the critical minerals to be extracted within Nunavut if we’re going become self-reliant on our mineral extractions as a country.”

He added that he’s also discussed Grays Bay with Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson, who he described as “very proactive in this project” and with the Northwest Territories’ premier and infrastructure minister, as that territory hopes to build an all-season road to the Nunavut border that would link with the Grays Bay route.

The Nunavut portion of the road would span 227 km from a deep-water port in the Northwest Passage to the former Jericho diamond mine. A second phase, comprising 95 km of road, would hook up with the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road, which may become a year-round artery.

The Nunavut side of the proposal carries an estimated $550-million price tag.

The KIA and the GN sought $415.1 million from the federal National Trade Corridors Fund in 2017 with a desire to build Grays Bay. It was unsuccessful. In 2018, the GN announced that it was withdrawing from the project as the $138 million that represented its share of the cost would go against its debt cap and be too limiting.

While the fate of Grays Bay remains uncertain, industry representatives are forging ahead with or without it.

“We have built our own port facility on Bathurst Inlet (in 2019). We ship our supplies in during the summer shipping season. We then wait for winter and build an ice road (173 km) from our port facility to the Goose Mine site and haul all our equipment along the temporary ice road,” explained Nicole Hoeller, vice-president of communications with Sabina Gold and Silver. “We fly in consumables and people — and other equipment from time to time. Once in production, we would fly out the (gold) bars.”

At Blue Star Gold’s Kitikmeot Ulu project, Raffi Elmajian, the company’s manager of corporate communications, said it would be a huge boon to the company if Grays Bay proceeds, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a deal-breaker if the project never comes to fruition.

“I think we’re moving forward regardless of what happens with Grays Bay. Obviously it would be a huge catalyst to our company. That proposed road will run right through our project, pretty much. That would add an enormous amount of value to the Blue Star story, obviously, in regards to infrastructure,” said Elmajian. “But we’re well prepared to move forward without it happening. We’re able to put together, if need be, winter roads and a makeshift port for ourselves to be able to move equipment in and out, if we get to that level. If the grade (of gold) and the ounces in the ground are healthy enough, then a mine could be developed really anywhere. There’s a lot of places in the world that are quite remote that have made it happen. Our peers over to the southeast, Sabina (Gold and Silver) has been able to do so and prove out what they’ve got in the ground.”

The Grays Bay port and road project is estimated to cost $550 million to build. The Kitikmeot Inuit Association has pulled back from its role as the primary project advocate. Image courtesy of The Senate of Canada