{{Short description|Bay in Nunavut, Canada}} {{Use Canadian English|date=March 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox body of water | name= Grays Bay | image= Map indicating Coronation Gulf, Nunavut, Canada.png | caption = Grays Bay is located in Coronation Gulf, Nunavut, Canada | pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_map_caption =Grays Bay, Nunavut | location= [[Coronation Gulf]] | coords= {{coord|67|49|N|111|03|W|region:CA-NU_type:waterbody_scale:30000|name=Grays Bay|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAGNK|Grays Bay}}</ref>|display=inline,title}} | rivers= [[Tree River]], [[Annielik River]] | oceans= [[Arctic Ocean]] | countries= Canada | length= | width= | area= | cities= Uninhabited }} '''Grays Bay''' is an [[Arctic]] waterway in the [[Kitikmeot Region]], [[Nunavut]], Canada. It is located in [[Coronation Gulf]] with [[Hepburn Island]] at its mouth. The [[Tree River]] and the [[Annielik River]] flow into the bay.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stefansson |first=Vilhjalmur |author-link=Vilhjalmur Stefansson |title=The Friendly Arctic: The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions |publisher=[[Macmillan of Canada|The Macmillan Co.]] |date=192 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/friendlyarctics00stefgoog/page/n867 747] |url=https://archive.org/details/friendlyarctics00stefgoog |quote=Annielik.}}</ref> Grays Bay lies beside the [[Northwest Passage]], part of the disputed [[Canadian Internal Waters]] of the [[Arctic Archipelago]], see [[territorial claims in the Arctic]].
It is the ancestral home of the [[Kogluktuaryumiut]], a [[Copper Inuit]] subgroup.<ref name="prehistoric">{{cite journal |last=Stefansson |first=Vilhjalmur |date=30 September 1914 |title=Prehistoric and Present Commerce among the Arctic Coast Eskimo |journal=Geological Survey Museum Bulletin |volume=6 |pages=14 |url=https://archive.org/stream/prehistoricprese00stefiala/prehistoricprese00stefiala_djvu.txt}}</ref>
== Shipping == [[File:Northwest passage.jpg|thumb|left|320px|Northwest Passage routes]]
Grays Bay was proposed as the site of a potential dock facility. In 2007 Wolfden Resources received a favourable review "for its copper/zinc mine proposal from the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB)."<ref name=Northern /> The proposal included plans for a {{convert|53|km|adj=on}} all-weather road that would include a dock facility at Grays Bay on the [[Coronation Gulf]], and will parallel the Kennartic River to the mine site at High Lake."<ref name=Northern>{{citation |url=https://northernwaterways.com/blog/?paged=7 |title=Proposal for Road and Mine Project at High Lake Gets Approval from Nunavut Impact Review Board |date=15 March 2007 |work=Northern Waterways |access-date=27 December 2013}}</ref>
[[MMG Limited|MMG Minerals]] (Minerals and Metals Group), a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned [[China Minmetals]] (Minmetals Resources), has also proposed a port "that could accommodate ships of up to 50,000 tonnes{{efn-ua|{{convert|50000|t}}}} that would make 16 round trips a year — both east and west —through the Northwest Passage" and a "350-kilometre{{efn-ua|{{convert|350|km|adj=on}}}} all-weather road with 70 bridges that would stretch from Izok Lake to Grays Bay."<ref name=FP2012>{{citation |title=Tories mull a Chinese plan for Izok Corridor that could bring billions of dollars to Nunavut |url=https://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/28/tories-mull-a-chinese-plan-for-izok-corridor-that-could-bring-billions-of-dollars-to-nunavut/ |newspaper=[[Financial Post]] |date=28 December 2012 |access-date=27 December 2013 |last=Weber |first=Bob}}</ref> The multibillion-dollar Izok Corridor project is projected to produce {{convert|180,000|t}} of zinc and another {{cvt|50,000|t}} of copper a year.<ref name=FP2012 /> In order to do this "Izok Lake would be drained, the water dammed and diverted to a nearby lake. Three smaller lakes at High Lake would also be drained. Grays Bay would be substantially filled in."<ref name=FP2012 />
In their August 2012 proposal, which has since been revised, MMG Minerals described the planned facilities at the Grays Bay Port that would "include a dock, concentration storage shed, fuel storage facilities and a camp. These facilities will support storage of concentrate, loading of bulk-carrier ships, and re-supply of fuel and goods for the Project."<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.mmg.com/en/Our-Operations/Development-projects/Izok-Corridor/~/media/Files/Our%20operations/Exploration%20and%20Development/Izok%20Corridor/VOL1-SEC-01-Introduction.ashx |title=Izok Corridor Project Proposal |publisher=[[MMG Limited|MMG Resources]] |date=August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228044845/http://www.mmg.com/en/Our-Operations/Development-projects/Izok-Corridor/~/media/Files/Our%20operations/Exploration%20and%20Development/Izok%20Corridor/VOL1-SEC-01-Introduction.ashx |archive-date=28 December 2013}}</ref> The Grays Bay port would be open three months of the year to "ship ore in two directions through both ends of the Northwest Passage."<ref name=Nunatsiaq>{{citation |title=MMG forges ahead with Izok zinc-copper mine proposal: "The Izok Corridor Project is expected to provide a number of economic benefits to Nunavut |publisher=[[Nunatsiaq News]] |date=4 September 2012 |access-date=27 December 2013 |url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674mmg_forges_ahead_with_izok_zinc-copper_mine_project_proposal/}}</ref>
The project was revived in 2024, with permitting anticipated to take until 2027, and construction to begin in 2030. <ref name=GM2024>{{citation |title=Long-awaited Arctic port and road project restarts with regulatory filings |work=[[The Canadian Press]] |date=26 June 2024 |access-date=28 June 2024 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-long-awaited-arctic-port-and-road-project-restarts-with-regulatory/ |publisher=[[The Globe and Mail]] |last=Weber |first=Bob}}</ref>
On 12 March 2026, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]], [[Mark Carney]] announced funding for a {{cvt|230|km}}, all-season road from Gray's Bay south to the [[Northwest Territories]] border. Construction of the road will improve northern sovereignty, in addition to construction of northern military operational support hubs in [[Whitehorse]], [[Resolute, Nunavut|Resolute]], [[Rankin Inlet]] and [[Cambridge Bay]], and upgrades the national defence infrastructure in [[Yellowknife]], [[Inuvik]], [[Iqaluit]] and [[Happy Valley-Goose Bay]].<ref>{{cite web |access-date=16 March 2026 |url=https://nunavutnews.com/2026/03/12/carney-announces-40-billion-for-northern-defence-and-infrastructure/ |title=Carney announces $40 billion for Northern defence and infrastructure |first1=Kody |last1=Ferron |date=12 March 2026 |publisher=[[News/North|Nunavut News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |access-date=16 March 2026 |url= https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/421/ARCT/Briefs/2018-10-01_NRC_e.pdf |title=The Grays Bay Road and Port Project |publisher=[[Government of Nunavut]] and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist-ua}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.nirb.ca/project/125069 GBRP Project] at NIRB
{{Bays of Nunavut}}
[[Category:Bays of the Kitikmeot Region]] [[Category:Former populated places in the Kitikmeot Region]]