Funny, how there hasn't been a peep lately about the east west road.

from the past:

Goldcorp needs approximately 20 megawatts (MW) of additional electrical capacity to increase underground ventilation and maintain safe working conditions.

Currently, the provincial grid does not have adequate capacity to supply electricity to the mine based on the projected demand. A detailed engineering study conducted by Goldcorp of alternatives for supplying the mine’s power needs concluded that on-site diesel generation was the only reliable and feasible option.

 Noront PR rep Janice Mande added that Goldcorp TSX:G has shown interest in Noront’s proposal as a route for transmission infrastructure. The major’s fly-in/fly-out Musselwhite mine lies roughly 130 kilometres southwest of Eagle’s Nest and Blackbird

The route would upgrade an existing winter road to all-weather status. Among its advantages, it “avoids provincial parks, avoids areas of special interest to aboriginal groups and provides the greatest benefit to first nation communities,

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When you read the below, it was very lucky that there were no workers at the mine when this fire happened. A conveyor apparatus caught fire. Why did this conveyor apparatus catch fire??

They will have to make sure there was adequate ventilation in the mine and that the equipment fire was related to overheating due to lack of ventilation.

Because of the fire, the GENERATOR power was shutdown, and the mine flooded because the pumps stopped working.

Here is the scary part. Since the mine ventilation is connected to the generator power, if you shut down the generators, you have NO ventilation. Imagine being a worker there when all this happened. 

Had there been hydro transmission there, the pumps would have worked and the rest of the connected needed loads, like the ventilation equipment.

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/musselwhite-mine-still-recovering-from-fire-and-flooding-2-photos-1539215

Work at Musselwhite Mine in northwestern Ontario has been suspended after a fire in the underground complex on Friday, March 29. Luckily no one was in the mine at the time.

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/musselwhite-mine-still-recovering-from-fire-and-flooding-2-photos-1539215

"On March 29, conveyor apparatus caught fire, leading to a power shutdown that that stopped the pumps that are needed to keep water out of the mine."

A spokesperson for Newmont Goldcorp, which owns the mine, says the company is working to reestablish full access to the mine, and recovery is progressing "safely and efficiently."

In a statement, Communications Manager Cherry DeGeer said "work is still ongoing to develop the production resumption strategy and timing. It is unlikely to see production before Q4, but we look forward to using this opportunity to get ahead on development work."

Completion of a major improvement to some underground infrastructure is suspended for now.

The company is upgrading the way it brings ore from deeper levels to an underground crusher. It expects the $90 million project will lead to a 20 per cent increase in gold production and a 10 per cent decrease in operating costs over the life of the mine.

"Once the expected timeline for the ramp, secondary egress and dewatering has been determined, main work on the conveyor system and infrastructure will be able to start," DeGeer said.

The company's production losses will apparently be offset. According to DeGeer,  Newmont Goldcorp has insurance for this type of event and is actively working with its brokers.

About 700 people work at the mine.

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This fire-power outage, that occured could have been horrific had workers been in the mine at the time. 

Newmont-Goldcorp, should be pushing for transmission lines and Noront's east west route.

The diesel generators should be back up to Hydro, not the prime source of power for ventilation and pumps.

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