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Profile

The Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project (BIPR) will make a substantial contribution to the economic development of Nunavut. It will provide access to the Arctic Ocean for remote mines in Nunavut whose access to commercial centres is currently limited to costly air transport and a winter ice road. The Port facility will be located on the west side of Bathurst Inlet, approximately 40 km south of the community of Bathurst Inlet. The proposed Road route studied for the feasibility study is from Bathurst Inlet to Contwoyto Lake (211 km).

Overview

The project will provide substantial economic benefits to the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. It will reduce transportation costs in the region, thereby increasing the economic feasibility of existing mineral deposits and encouraging new mineral exploration. Once this road is in place, there is potential for a larger network of connecting roads to access other mineral properties such as Tahera, Ulu, George Lake, Goose Lake and Hackett River. The BIPR route intersects with the existing Lupin winter road, thus it will have a connection south to the major diamond mines in the Northwest Territories and to Yellowknife. The Project will increase employment, training, business development and taxation revenues to the Government of Nunavut.

Experience

In 2001, Rescan was hired to conduct and manage all of the necessary baseline environmental studies required for an environmental impact assessment (EIA), to produce the EIA, and to help guide it through regulatory approval. Baseline studies included studies on climate, geology, terrain and soils, vegetation and ecosystem mapping, acid/alkaline rock drainage, freshwater environment (fish, fish habitat and aquatic ecology), marine environment (physical, chemical and biological oceanography, marine fish and fish habitat) and socio-economics. Baseline studies have been completed, scoping of the project has also been completed, and the regulatory process is in progress.