Canada’s Diamond Mines Winter Road Closes

The ice road to Canada’s three diamond mines closed April 9 after 72 days of successful operation. A record 10,922 truck loads carrying approximately 331,000 tons of fuel, cement, prill, and general freight traveled north to diamond mines and projects, and tourist camps.

The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road, as it’s officially known, is an important supply route for the Ekati, Diavik and Tahera diamond mines as well as to the Snap Lake mine, under construction.

According to the Joint Venture Management Committee (JVMC) overseeing the road, a cold winter and the addition of extra flooding and maintenance crews improved road conditions. Last year record warm temperatures forced its early closure.

In addition to northbound loads, this year there were 810 loads of freight trucked south.

Despite having had a cold winter this year, the northern climate shows a distinct warming trend, and future winters are likely to be warmer, JVMC warned. As part of its contingency work, a secondary route was opened from Gordon Lake south to Yellowknife via the old Discovery Mine winter road.

As cold temperatures supported a successful Tibbitt to Contwoyto route, this secondary route saw only light traffic this year, with approximately 100 empty trucks using the road. This was enough to demonstrate its ability to handle large transport trucks and serve as an important alternative in the future.