Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 13/00) - Canadian Zinc Corporation is now waiting for approval of a land use permit on property near Nahanni Butte.

Last week, a six-member panel from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board referred the application to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) for an environmental assessment.

FACT FILE: - Canadian Zinc Corporation is seeking to re-establish 40 kilometres of access road to relocate 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel to its Prairie Creek Mine site. The fuel cache has been on site for nearly 20 years when previous owners established the mine. - The company is also proposing to drill six holes within three kilometres of the mine site in search of more minerals. - Zinc, silver, lead and copper deposits have been found through previous exploration, but the mine is not yet operational. - The 28,000-acre Prairie Creek mine site is located approximately 90 kilometres northeast of Nahanni Butte.

"The main reason was public concern, and that came from many different sources. It came from the Deh Cho First Nations, the Nahanni Butte First Nation, Parks Canada, CPAWS ... there was a lot of mail," said Ken Weagle, executive director of the land and water board.

Chuck Blyth, superintendent of Nahanni National Park Reserve, said Parks opposed the application because re-opening an access road would create environmental impacts. Although he agrees the fuel cache should be cleaned up, he said a fuel leak during transport, or once the 10,000 gallon drums are relocated to the Prairie Creek mine site, could affect the South Nahanni watershed.

He said the MVEIRB may come up with a lower-risk solution such as a winter road that would have a stipulation for rehabilitation from any environmental impacts.

"It's rational, good planning to take a look at what the alternatives are," said Blyth. "They (Canadian Zinc) need a more careful analysis. It was their own statement that said there's no problem with the fuel tanks right now. If not, what's the rush?"

Malcolm Swallow, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Canadian Zinc Corporation, said the board's decision could delay the fuel clean-up until spring.

"Our concern is that there is an environmental liability out there," he said.

"We're prepared to clean it up but we can't do it unless someone gives us a permit to go fetch it."

Roland Semanjovs, communications officer for the MVEIRB, said the board is going to conduct this environmental assessment as expeditiously as possible.

"That could be anywhere from a month or two," he said.

The clean-up could cost $100,000-$150,000, according to Swallow.

He said the value of the fuel would nearly cover the cost of the operation. Previous suggestions of burning the fuel on site would not only nullify the cost effectiveness of the project, but it wouldn't be environmentally sound, he said.

He said Canadian Zinc intends to speed up the process as best it can by communicating with the MVEIRB and local First Nations. Not only that, but another 30,000 gallon cache exists elsewhere and Canadian Zinc would like to explore the possibility of a joint-venture with First Nations to remove it, said Swallow. He added that his company is aiming to have the Prairie Creek mine operational within two years, and that goal was not affected by the recent decision.

"It's not altering my basic plans for what we're doing on the project," he said. "We'll chug through the process."