Minerals industry welcomes infrastructure funding for NWT and Nunavut

14 August 2019

(Yellowknife, NT – August 14, 2019) The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines (Chamber) welcomes federal and territorial government funding support announced for roads and a port to support mineral development in the Slave Geological Province, a particularly mineral rich and underdeveloped region that spans the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut.

Announcements over the last two days between the federal government, the two territorial governments and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), commits over sixty million dollars to the Slave Corridor Project. Funding details include:

In the NWT, $40 million to support: environmental and regulatory reviews for a road from Highway 4 to Lockhart Lake; planning of road design and alignment from Highway 4 to the Nunavut Border; and planning studies for the Slave Geological Province Corridor to make this project shovel-ready. Transport Canada will contribute $30 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF) and the NWT government will contribute $10 million.
In Nunavut, $21.5 million to complete preparatory work necessary for the first phase of construction of the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, which would support mineral development in the Nunavut portion of the Slave Geological Province. Funding is coming from the NTCF, with additional funding expected later from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the KIA’s parent organization, to bring this project to shovel-ready state over the next two to three years.

“This is a very exciting development for Canada’s North,” said Gary Vivian, President of the Chamber. “It’s been a long time coming, with initial discussions on these visionary projects beginning some sixty years ago. By reducing the cost of accessing this remote region, its significant potential can be unlocked for the benefit of not only the NWT and Nunavut, but also for Canada. It’s exciting too, to see the KIA, an Indigenous government, as a leading partner in this nation building Canadian infrastructure development.”

The proposed Slave Geological Province corridor would include over 600 kilometres of all-season road (approximately 230 km in Nunavut, 413 km in the NWT) connecting, for the first time, Nunavut to the rest of Canada. The long-term vision would see the corridor support road, communications and hydro transmission line infrastructure, connecting the NWT to a deep-water Arctic port in Nunavut, and creating new economic opportunities and benefits for residents of both territories.

Yesterday’s announcement in Iqaluit was made by Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau and Nunavut Minister of Economic Development and Transportation David Akeeagok. Today’s announcement in Yellowknife was made by NWT Member of Parliament Michael McLeod on behalf of Minister Garneau and by Wally Schumann, NWT Minister for Infrastructure and for Industry, Tourism and Investment.

For more information on the NWT and Nunavut mining industries, please visit the website at www.miningnorth.com or contact Tom Hoefer, Executive Director at Tel: 867-873-5281 or email: executivedirector@miningnorth.com.

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