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impossible to complete the job on schedule.Weather permitting, the road reaches optimalthickness of approximately 107 centimetresabout five weeks into construction,opening up the lifeline for the heaviest grossvehicle weights, as much as 194,000 pounds,to be dispatched.There’s a stream of big rigs heading to andfrom the mine sites that includes road maintenancecrews plowing snow from two lanes(a primary inbound one and a secondaryreturn express lane for empty rigs) and a securityteam monitoring traffic and speeds. Activityon the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto ice-way isa delicate ballet of not-so-delicate machinery.Inbound rigs are released from Yellowknifefour at a time every 20 minutes and must stay500 metres apart and travel at speeds between25 km/hr to 50 km/hr.“There are certain parts where the speedwould be lower depending on the depth ofthe lake and thickness of the ice,” says Nuna’sAlan Fitzgerald, senior superintendent forthe winter road. “Certainly, controlling truckspeed is a critical factor in order to maintainthe ice integrity.”Moving any faster can cause the ice toblow apart. Moving vehicles cause a wave toform on the underside of the ice, in front ofthe wheels. Ice breaks can occur if the truckovertakes the wave moving underneath, or ifthe wave hits the land portage and is deflectedback into the unfrozen lake water under theice with too much force.Despite the inherent risks, played up inthe History Channel’s popular television seriesIce Road Truckers, the safety record of theice road is solid. Since the road’s beginning,one person has died – succumbing to heartfailure after hitting the freezing water whenhe plunged through the ice in 1983.“I was a little browned off about that televisionseries,” says Zigarlick of the HistoryChannel’s treatment of what has been a historicallysafe construction venture. Since theseries aired, the joint venture partnership hasopted out of participating in future episodes.The partnership between Echo Bay MinesLtd., BHP Billiton, and Diavik DiamondMines Inc. recently lost a fourth member. Inmid-January, Tahera, owner of the Jerichomine, filed for bankruptcy protection citinginsufficient funds to continue its operations.“It’s a very small percentage player inthe road,” says Erik Madsen, Nuna’s directorof winter road operations for the joint venture.Last season, he says, Jericho accountedfor just 500 of the 11,000-plus loads. “Mostlikely we’ll stop the road at Lac de Gras thisyear, making it 180 kilometres shorter than inprevious seasons.”Madsen was unwilling to disclose thecost of the ice road but would say the financialburden is shared by members of thejoint venture based on total tonnage dividedby the amount of loads and distancetravelled. Other businesses, not part of theventure, are charged on a cost-per-ton/kilometre schedule. Last season, a total of330,000 tons were transported and as ofthe start of the 2008 season, Madsen expectstruckers to deliver 300,000 tons ofequipment and supplies; among the cargoare Finning’s Caterpillar machines – crucialto sustaining the NWT’s burgeoning miningsector.Of ice and diamondsThe Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto Winter Road serves Canada’s northern diamond mines.nunavutnorthwest territoriesEkati Diamond Mine, BHP Billiton:Since opening for production in1998, this open pit mine hasproduced over $1 billionin rough diamonds andemploys 850 people. MackayLakeyellowknifeTibbitt to Contwoyto Winter RoadGreat SlaveLakeContwoytoLakeLacde GrasJericho Mine, Tahera: When Nunavut’sfirst diamond mine opened,it employed 180 people. Its primarybacker, Tiffany & Co, forecastedan average annual productionof 375,000 carats, butTahera filed for bankruptcyprotection in January.Diavik Diamond Mine,Diavik/Aber: This minehas grossed $100 millionannually in sales, since itopened in 2003. It producesapproximately eight millioncarats annually and employs700 people.Snap Lake, De Beers: Productionbegan in late 2007 at this newestdiamond mine in the NWT. De Beersexpects to produce 1.4 million caratsannually and employs 500 people.www.finning.ca Spring 2008 • tracks & treads 73