Caribou crossings included in draft plan for Ekati mine expansion

Dominion Diamond's draft plan for mining the Jay kimberlite pipe at the Ekati mine calls for special road crossings and other mitigation measures to avoid disturbing caribou.

The company says mining the Jay pipe would add an extra 10 years of production to the Ekati diamond mine's lifespan. But to mine the Jay pipe, a new road would need to be built through part of the Bathurst caribou herd's range. 

According to the company's draft plan, during production, long-haul trucks will make 56 round trips a day between the Jay pit and Ekati's processing plant, with about one truck leaving the Jay pit every 12 minutes.

Researchers have recorded major caribou movement in the area some years. In 2004, up to 7,000 caribou from the threatened Bathurst herd were seen in the study area.

To help reduce disturbance, the company plans to build caribou crossings into the Jay road and carry out surveys to monitor activity.

Colour coded signs would be used to help truckers know the likelihood of encountering caribou on the road. The plan says if 40 nursing caribou or more than 2,000 animals come within 100 metres of the Jay or Misery roads, a red alert would come into effect — the highest response level. 

Trucks' speed would drop to as low as 20 km/h or stop altogether if a caribou is crossing. Production could even shut down.

Also, under a red alert, Dominion Diamond says environmental technicians would be dispatched to monitor caribou behaviour and make sure they're safe.

The company plans to get more feedback before finalizing its draft plan.