‘Our motto is No roads, no problem’

Continued from FP1

Residents of northern Quebec shouldn’t expect to see the hybrid airships, which resemble a giant piece of meringue, floating overhead anytime soon.

Lockheed Martin is forecasting they will receive certification from Transport Canada near the end of 2018, and first commercial deliveries will begin in 2019.

This jibes well with Quest’s schedule — the company plans to ship its first rare-earth minerals, used in everything from smartphones to MRI machines, in 2019.

Once certification is complete, Hybrid Enterprises LLC, Lockheed’s exclusive reseller, will deliver the $40-million airships to U.K.based Straightline Aviation Ltd., which will then operate them on Quest’s behalf in an $850-million deal.

“This a defining contract which demonstrates how this unique aircraft can unlock the economic potential of the remote regions of the world and in particular Northern Canada without the environmental impact of traditional transport options such as road, rail and airports,” Mark Dorey, chief operating officer of Straightline Aviation, said at a press conference in Ottawa last week.

Grant Cool, chief operating officer of Hybrid Enterprises, said the Canadian North is the perfect fit for the airships, which can land on gravel, water or ice using hovercraft technology without needing a runway or other infrastructure.

“I believe this hybrid technology will change Canada’s North by giving us reliable year-round transportation, to bring global access to the people who live there and finally connect it to the rest of Canada,” said Cool, who grew up in the North.

“This deal will … find a better way to manage the growth of our resource and energy industries without significantly impacting our environment. After all, our motto is, ‘No roads, no problem.’”

The first version of the airship will be 300 feet (91 metres) long and able to transport up to 20 tons of cargo and 19 passengers, but Cool said later versions could carry up to 50 tons.

Using a combination of helium and aerodynamics, the airships will burn less than one-tenth the fuel of a helicopter per ton and will cost approximately onequarter of what it takes to operate a fixed-wing cargo aircraft.

The lack of transportation infrastructure in Canada’s North has long been considered a hindrance to development of the region’s economy.

Recognizing this, the Ontario and Quebec governments have committed nearly $3 billion between them to develop infrastructure with the goal of encouraging investment from resource companies.

But both provinces’ plans — the Ring of Fire and Plan Nord, respectively — have run up against difficulties, including high costs, logistical challenges and First Nations opposition.

Quest chairman Pierre Lortie said the airships will not only help his company develop its Strange Lake mine without waiting for road or rail infrastructure to be built, but will also be better for the environment.

“We avoid having to build an intrusive land-based infrastructure, either across Labrador or Quebec, and therefore in essence contribute to sustainable development,” Lortie said.

Both Hybrid Enterprises and Straightline Aviation have had discussions with other potential customers, including First Nations groups.

“This technology is going to be quite new to most people so it’s going to take a bit of a leap … but certainly as we get more airships flying, there are incredible opportunities for First Nations,” Cool said. to all of Coinbase’s users based on the actions of two, Padovano said. Still, he’s unsure whether there could be a case for the IRS to demand that Coinbase release at least some of its users’ information.

“There are two questions here. One is whether or not (the IRS has) reasonably identified a class of individuals and has a reasonable basis for believing that all U.S. customers for Coinbase from 2013-2015 may have failed to comply with laws based on these three users,” he said. “Two is whether the information sought by IRS is not available from any other reasonable source than Coinbase.”