
Building and Maintaining Ice
Roads in Cold Climates
A case study from the Saskatchewan Research Council
By Andrew Downing and Ian Wilson, Saskatchewan Research Council
There is often a need in the
mining industry for mines
to be constructed in cold re-gions
of Canada, such as those in north-ern
Saskatchewan, Nunavut, the Yukon or
the Northwest Territories. The large-scale
movement of bulk building materials, sup-plies
and equipment can be cost-prohibi-tive
or even impossible. Some mechanisms
of transport, such as a barge, can only be
used based on the proximity of their loca-tions
and the availability of ports for dock-ing,
while air transport is costly and difficult
with large items. Alternatively, driving on
traditional routes (if they exist and if they
are available based on seasonality) may in-volve
travelling a significantly longer dis-tance
to a construction site, such as around
a large lake rather than across it. When the
transportation of supplies is necessary in
SASKATCHEWAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
cold climates or regions, ice roads may pro-vide
a useful mechanism for travelling to
the site.
The Saskatchewan Research Council
(SRC) constructs and maintains an ice
road that extends off the provincially
maintained ice road. Approximately 45 ki-lometres
in length, the SRC ice road pro-vides
access to the abandoned Gunnar
Uranium Mine and Mill site. SRC conducts
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SASKATCHEWAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
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