Grays Bay
| Grays Bay | |
|---|---|
 Grays Bay is located in Coronation Gulf, Nunavut, Canada | |
  Grays Bay Grays Bay, Nunavut | |
| Location | Coronation Gulf |
| Coordinates | 67°49′N 111°03′W / 67.817°N 111.050°W[1] |
| River sources | Tree River, Annielik River |
| Ocean/sea sources | Arctic Ocean |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Settlements | Uninhabited |
Grays Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Coronation Gulf and Hepburn Island is located at its mouth. The Tree River and the Annielik River flow into the bay.[2]
It is the ancestral home of the Kogluktuaryumiut, a Copper Inuit subgroup.[3]
Grays Bay is on the Northwest Passage route.
Northwest Passage
Grays Bay was proposed as the site of a potential dock facility. In 2007 Wolfden Resources received a favourable review "for its copper/zinc mine proposal from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB)."[4] The proposal included plans for a 53 km (33 mi) all-weather road that would include a dock facility at Grays Bay on the Coronation Gulf, and will parallel the Kennartic River to the mine site at High Lake."[4]
MMG Minerals (Minerals and Metals Group), a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned Minmetals Resources Ltd., has also proposed a port "that could accommodate ships of up to 50,000 tonnes that would make 16 round trips a year — both east and west —through the Northwest Passage" and a "350-kilometre all-weather road with 70 bridges that would stretch from Izok Lake to Grays Bay."[5] The multibillion-dollar Izok Corridor project is projected to produce 180,000 tonnes of zinc and another 50,000 tonnes of copper a year.[5] In order to do this "Izok Lake would be drained, the water dammed and diverted to a nearby lake. Three smaller lakes at High Lake would also be drained. Grays Bay would be substantially filled in."[5]
In their August 2012 proposal which has since been revised, MMG Minerals described the planned facilities at the Grays Bay Port that would "include a dock, concentration storage shed, fuel storage facilities and a camp. These facilities will support storage of concentrate, loading of bulk-carrier ships, and re-supply of fuel and goods for the Project."[6] The Grays Bay port would be open three months of the year to "ship ore in two directions through both ends of the Northwest Passage."[7]
The project was revived in 2024, with permitting anticipated to take until 2027, and construction to begin in 2030. [8]
References
- ^ "Grays Bay". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (1921). The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions. The Macmillan Co. pp. 747.
Annielik.
- ^ Stefansson, V. (30 September 1914). "Prehistoric and Present Commerce among the Arctic Coast Eskimo". Geological Survey Museum Bulletin. 6: 14.
- ^ a b "Proposal for Road and Mine Project at High Lake Gets Approval from Nunavut Impact Review Board", Northern Waterways, 15 March 2007, retrieved 27 December 2013
- ^ a b c Weber, Bob (28 December 2012), "Tories mull a Chinese plan for Izok Corridor that could bring billions of dollars to Nunavut", Financial Post.com, retrieved 27 December 2013
- ^ "Izor Corridor Project Proposal", MMG, August 2012
- ^ "MMG forges ahead with Izok zinc-copper mine proposal: "The Izok Corridor Project is expected to provide a number of economic benefits to Nunavut", Nunatsiaq News, 4 September 2012, retrieved 27 December 2013
- ^ Weber, Bob (26 June 2024), "Long-awaited Arctic port and road project restarts with regulatory filings", The Canadian Press, The Globe And Mail, retrieved 28 June 2024