Snowfield Development Corp. SWFCF

Ice road to the north..interesting

[marketminer]

Work gets underway on winter supply road Work on the 570-kilometre winter road that supplies diamond mines in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut has started despite unseasonably warm temperatures. Workers are a week ahead of their normal schedule, said Tom Hoefer, a spokesman for the Diavik Diamond Mine, one of several mining companies that manage the winter road. About 87 per cent of the road, which runs north from Yellowknife, is built on frozen lakes and streams. Crews are using amphibious vehicles to remove snow from the ice to allow it to thicken, Hoefer told CBC News in a recent interview. Cold weather in November produced a good ice base, he said. If the work continues as planned and the weather co-operates, Hoefer said, the road should be in operation by February as usual. In 2006, the road was only open 42 days, well below its average of 67, because of mild weather. Mining companies were forced to turn to much costlier air transportation to supply the mines with fuel and supplies. The road services three producing diamond mines — Diavik, Ekati and Jericho — in addition to DeBeers' Snap Lake mine, which is scheduled to go into production in late 2007.