Following Agnico Eagle’s joint community meeting with the KIA we have now completed our first set of dust suppressant tests along the All Weather Access Road (AWAR) and on the Rankin Inlet community roads which are currently being used for the Meliadine mine project.

The test involved creating a mixture of fresh water and calcium chloride, which is a type of salt that is often used for both de-icing and dust control and is approved by the Government of Nunavut. The water and salt mixture was then sprayed directly on the road surface to dampen it and prevent dust from being created. The results of these tests have been very successful so far.

Agnico Eagle’s team worked directly with the Hamlet to receive approval on this approach and how to prioritize the routes to be sprayed and the schedule will be limited to 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to avoid any disruption to the community.

We have also offered to lend the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet some additional calcium chloride for use in their own dust suppression efforts should they need it before their own shipment arrives.

The next step in our process is to monitor how well this dust suppression mixture and spraying approach is working and creating a system for producing the solution in large quantities for long term use.  If the mixture continues to work well and the weather conditions are good we expect to be able to apply it to the rest of the AWAR by mid-August.

Here are some photos and a video of our progress so far – click to make them bigger:

The first dust suppressant dust tests on the Meliadine road have been successfully done.

Map showing tested roads with dust suppressant.