Stornoway Diamond Corporation yesterday held the official opening and naming ceremony of the "Clarence and Abel Swallow Airport" at the Renard Mine site. Present on the occasion were community members, regional dignitaries and members of the Renard mine development team. “The airport has been named in honour of two elder members of the Swallow family, the original "Tallymen" of the land upon which the Renard Mine is located,” Storoway said in a press release.

“The Clarence and Abel Swallow Airport comprises a 1,497m long gravel landing strip with associated instrumentation, maintenance facilities and a passenger terminal,” the company said. “Construction of the airport began in October 2013 and, already, more than 400 flights carrying 3,000 passengers have been processed during the early works and construction ramp-up at the Renard project site.”

NAV Canada certification for the airport's LNAV assisted landing capacity is expected shortly.

"Today's naming ceremony of the Clarence & Abel Swallow Airport is an opportunity to reflect on the relationships between Stornoway and the people our mine development will impact,” commented Matt Manson, President and CEO of Stornoway. “The construction of the airport has proceeded under the principals of sustainable development and social acceptability developed in our 2012 Mecheshoo Agreement with the Crees of the Eeyou Istchee. Cree businesses and contractors have been instrumental in its completion on budget and schedule.”