Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Friday, April 6, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - What could be the NWT's fourth diamond mine will be subject to an environmental impact review after all.

That decision came April 2 in an NWT Supreme Court ruling by Justice Louise Charbonneau upholding the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) decision that the Gahcho Kue project go to the environmental impact review.

Project partners De Beers, Camphor Ventures and Mountain Province Diamonds went to court last year to challenge the review board's decision.

De Beers originally applied for a land use permit and water licence from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board in November 2005 for its proposed mine at Kennady Lake, 280-kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

In December of the same year, Environment Canada referred the proposal to the review board.

The first stage of an application is environmental assessment, at the end of which the board will decide if the permits are issued or if an environmental impact review is necessary.

"Rather than waiting until the conclusion of the environmental assessment, the review board fast-tracked it by referring it to the environmental impact review," said Patrick Evans, president and chief executive officer of Mountain Province.

"We were concerned (the board) may have acted outside of their authority," Evans said.

In court, De Beers said the review board made several jurisdictional errors and that it had prejudged the issue of whether the proposal should be the subject of an environmental impact review.

The decision of the judicial review indicates that the review board acted appropriately, Evans said.

"The judge of the Supreme Court of the NWT has told us that she is satisfied, and as a result, we have a high level of comfort," Evans said.

Chairperson of the MVEIRB Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott was also pleased with the decision.

"It confirms our decision to order an environmental impact review," she said.

There is a 30-day appeal period, after which time the MVEIRB will start drafting the terms of reference for the environmental impact review. They will also write an environmental impact statement and select and appoint people to the panel that will deal with the review.

Gahcho Kue is the largest new diamond mine under development in the world today.

Ensuring the mine is built and becomes operational is imperative, not just for the project partners and shareholders, but also for development and employment in the NWT, Evans said. It is also important for a diamond industry facing a critical shortage of new supplies of diamonds.

"I don't think there is any question it will be permitted and will be built," Evans said.

Construction of the Gahcho Kue mine is expected to begin in 2009. Production is targeted to begin at the end of 2011 with full production happening the following year.