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Tucked along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, in Coronation Gulf, the Hope Bay Mine site is far from the most accessible place in the North. In fact, it makes “remote” look like walk in the park, with ice runways, blowing snow and unique living accommodations.

But the Boeing 727s and Lockheed Hercules cargo aircraft are getting to the Nunavut gold mine almost on a daily basis thanks to the coordination by BBE. These aircraft are flying in drum fuel, cement, calcium chloride, lumber, drilling equipment and supplies.

Mining at Hope Bay began in 2005, with Miramar Mining initiating the project, and until 2007, when the property was purchased by international mining giant, Newmont Mining Corporation.

Newmont estimates Hope Bay's gold reserves at four million ounces, with resource estimates of 1.6 million ounces of measured and indicated gold and 2.7 million ounces of inferred gold on all three deposits at Windy, Doris and Boston.

Newmont and its engineering contractor SNC Lavalin know the difficulties associated with supplying a site this far from the normal resource supply chains. That’s why they hired BBE to oversee their freight management, aircraft handling and expediting services.

“We saw what BBE could do for us earlier in the year when they organized the 3,200 km truck move from Inuvik to Yellowknife to connect to the cargo flights to the mine from there, and we were impressed. We are certainly far removed from major supply routes. When we need material or a specific piece of equipment, any delays can mean thousands of dollars in wasted resources. With the extreme weather up here, delays are a constant worry, but with BBE, their extensive experience with operating in these conditions means we can relax a bit – they have done it many times before,” said an SNC Lavalin contractor responsible for procurement and logistics management.

BBE loads the 727s and Hercules aircraft at their aircraft parking ramp in Yellowknife for the hour and a half flight to the clear blue arctic ice runway called Windy Ice Strip.

“We provide the passenger terminal in Yellowknife, manage the passenger check-in, all freight forwarding, aircraft charters and trucking services through the BBE Edmonton gateway. If SNC and Newmont need it, we’ll get it there as quickly as possible,” said Rodney Noseworthy, Operations Manager at BBE.

SNC Lavalin: www.snclavalin.com
Newmont: www.newmont.com

Freight destined for the Hope Bay Mine gets loaded at the Yellowknife Airport, then unloaded on site at the Windy Ice Strip.