EXPERIENCE WITH ENGINEERING SITE INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTHERN QUEBEC AND NORTHERN BAFFIN ISLAND

• Main Authors: L Samson, F. Tordon
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Baffin Island; Hudson; Milne Inlet; Baffin
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.558.4996; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/cpc/cpc3-21.pdf

Subsurface investigations were undertaken in permafros t a r e a s in connection with the engineering design of two potential major mining developments in the eas te rn Canadian Arctic. These a r e the Asbestos Hill and the Baffinland I ron Pro jec ts (Figure 1). Asbestos Hill is located in the northernmost par t of the Province of Quebec, 30 mi les from Hudson Strai t in the continuous permafros t zone. The project i s owned by Asbestos Corporation Limited and included in the init ial plans, provisions for a mine, an adjacent t rea tment plant to produce 100,030 tons of asbes tos f ibre annually, a nearby townsite fo r a n initial population of 503 people, a 40 mile gravel road f r o m the Asbestos Hill plant s i te to Deception Bay, an inlet of Hudson Strai t, where a wharf and storage facil i t ies were proposed ( ~ i g u r e 2). Site investigations required for foundation design of the various buildings and facil i t ies of this project took place intermittently between 1962 and 1964. The Baffinland I ron Development is located at Mary River in northern Baffin Island, 303 mi le s north of the Arct ic Circle, and i s the property of Baffinland I ron Mines Limited. Engineering site inve stiga-tions were c a r r i e d out in the Spring of 1965 f o r a prel iminary design and feasibilit):. study. In i t s present layout, the project consis ts of mining and crushing facil i t ies a t Mary River for an init ial production of 2,300, 003 tons of high grade d i rec t shipping o r e per yea r, a townsite f o r 1, 000 people, a 60 mile ra i l road, a wharf, extensive s torage and reclamation installations a t Milne Inlet (F igure 3).