View east of Misty examining the surface of the new site at Gahcho Kué.

Points West Heritage Consulting Ltd. conducted limited archaeological investigations for De Beers Canada Inc. at their Gahcho Kué Project in 2006. This was a continuation of work initiated in 2004. The study area is located at Kennady Lake, which is approximately 300 km east/northeast of Yellowknife and 80 km southeast of Snap Lake. Jean Bussey directed the field investigations and was assisted by Misty Lockhart, also of Points West, and Arthur Rabesca of the Lutselk’e First Nation.

The major objective of the 2006 field investigations was to monitor sites in the vicinity of activities conducted during the winter of 2005-2006. A secondary objective was to conduct archaeological inventory along a possible new road route located west of the proposed waste rock storage area, an area that had not been previously examined.

Close-up of quartz flakes visible on the surface of the new Gahcho Kué site.

The archaeological monitoring primarily involved low and slow helicopter reconnaissance. During these aerial investigations, the full length of the winter access road between Gahcho Kué and Mackay Lake, the land based portions of the southwest gravel pit access road and the vicinity of the proposed southeast gravel borrow pit were examined. In addition, limited ground reconnaissance was conducted in the vicinity of an area being used to store a mobile camp. This area is east of Mackay Lake near the start of the winter access road to Gahcho Kué. Placement of one unit of this camp has likely impacted a previously recorded archaeological site. This occurrence was reported to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC). The site is a small lithic scatter that was discovered in 1999 during an inventory conducted for the Gahcho Kué Project. As a result of discussions with the PWNHC, De Beers proposes to conduct further archaeological investigation at this site once the trailer units have been removed. The 2006 archaeological monitoring has confirmed that all other sites located near activities that took place in the winter of 2005-2006 have been avoided.

As a result of the inventory of the proposed waste storage access road, one new archaeological site was discovered. It is a small lithic scatter with over 25 flakes of quartz visible in one exposure. Scattered within a 10 m radius of this small concentration were a number of other quartz fragments, which in conjunction with the moderate vegetation cover, suggests potential for additional archaeological material. Site assessment through shovel testing will be conducted prior to any development activity. As a result of the archaeological inventory conducted in association with the Gahcho Kué Project, a total of 242 archaeological sites have been recorded.