Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road traffic is going well and catching back up to schedule after storms in January delayed construction.
Bogdan Stanciu/NNSL photo
“We’ve never had severe winter storms that early in the project that lasted as long as they did, so we lost a number of days to storms but we have procedures put in place so we’re getting closer to being caught up now” said Ron Near, director of winter road operations for the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Joint Venture.
This year is looking to be the second busiest year on record.
“It’ll be an excess of 9,800 loads, 330,000 metric tonnes” said Near.
Though the initial winter storms disrupted operations, there are no plans for the road to be open longer than usual.
“I don’t anticipate the road to go any longer than the scheduled March 31st close down” said Near.
Tom Ormbsy, head of external and corporate affairs for De Beers Canada, said the Gahcho Kue operation is running smoothly, despite previous inclement weather.
“Not many people realize how much we prioritize safety, so when there are risks of white out we pause operations to ensure safety” said Ormbsy.
“We have had a few weather interruptions in the last few weeks, but we’re catching up – we have flexibility built into the program, so that when interruptions happen, we can account for them”