In 2023, climate change pushes the world toward record-breaking heat.
Toronto:
This year’s unusually warm winter in Canada has delayed the opening of a 400-kilometer (250-mile) ice road that is rebuilt annually and serves as the main access to Canada’s diamond mines for Rio Tinto, Burgundy Mining and De Beers. Remote arctic regions.
The Winter Highway, which can only be reached by air in the region for 10 months of the year, opened in mid-February with a two-week delay, disrupting the movement of goods along the ice road built along 64 frozen lakes.
Earlier this week, the Tricho government in the Northwest Territories (NWT) restricted the movement of commercial trucks on one of its winter roads for several days in anticipation of warmer weather in the North Slave region.
While diamond production has not been affected, the delay highlights the challenges facing the company as mines that have made Canada the world’s third-largest producer of diamonds are nearing the end of their productive lives.
It also highlights infrastructure obstacles in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which are positioning themselves as the next frontier in the exploration of critical metals such as rare earths, cobalt and lithium in the transition to a green future.
Tom Hoefer, senior adviser to the Chamber of Mines of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, said construction delays on the winter road, which first opened in 1982, have occurred in the past, but this year’s delays are the longest in recent years.
“So we did start down the road a little late,” he said.
Climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels, combined with the emergence of a natural El Niño climate pattern, is pushing the world toward record-breaking heat in 2023.
The impact of this year’s El Niño phenomenon caused the maximum temperature in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, to be zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) in December and minus 8.7 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in February, making it the warmest day of the winter, according to Environment Canada. Data, within ten years.
The winter road, open from late January to early April, requires ice at least 29 inches (74 centimeters) thick and can carry vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 kilograms (57,320 pounds) to transport the diesel fuel and explosives needed to operate the mine.
On warm days, engineers have found ways to trick Mother Nature by creating artificial ice by using giant sprinklers to blast water high into the sky, where it cools and forms a thick layer of ice as it falls.
Paul Gruner, chief executive of indigenous business Tlicho Investment Corp & Group of Companies, said that with a mild winter at the beginning of the year, if the season ends or spring comes early, there may be a risk of early closure.
“So when you cannibalize both areas, you start to create a very short season,” Gruner said.
Winter Road is jointly operated by Burgundy Diamond Mines, Rio Tinto and Anglo American De Beers, which operate the Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Kue diamond mines respectively.
De Beers and Burgundy Diamonds said their mine operations were not affected by the mild winter. Rio Tinto declined to comment.
The cost of two months of winter road operation is C$25 million (US$18.54 million), split between the three companies based on the cargo transported by road and the distance traveled.
However, these mines have a lifespan of approximately 20 years, and at the end of their life they need to be closed.
Rio Tinto has said it will close the Diavik mine in 2026, and De Beers plans to close Snap Lake at the end of this year while it seeks to extend the life of Gahcho Kue.
chicken and egg
Canada’s remote Arctic region, home to about 86,000 people, faces complete closure of all diamond mines by 2030 and is looking for ways to keep the mining industry alive.
A lack of infrastructure is a challenge, and shortened seasonal use of ice roads could undermine the investment needed to extract critical minerals.
Tlicho Investment said: “If you are in the exploratory phase… and consider winter roads as part of your core business model, the risks start to arise… and you decide whether to move forward with the project,” Gruner said.
Hofer of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines said the two northern territories, which are as large as Europe, have the highest infrastructure deficits in Canada and are one reason why living and doing business in the north are so expensive.
“It’s a chicken-and-egg situation,” said Heather Eckener-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment programs at Macdonald-Laurier. Won’t come, it’s too expensive.” Institute.
Pirot said it costs C$3 million per kilometer to build gravel roads.
Mining groups are pushing for a massive infrastructure project to connect the Northwest Territories to Nunavut, which would run through diamond mines and help unlock the region’s mineral resources. At least 23 of the 31 critical minerals listed by the Canadian government are found in the Northwest Territories.
“When this project starts, it will replace a road that has served the mining industry for 40 years, but before that happens, ice roads are needed,” Hofer said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
