Cambridge Bay (June 09/03) - Environmental concerns over Tahera Corporation's $45 million Jericho diamond mine could set the project back a year.

The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB), based in Cambridge Bay, has yet to set a date for final hearings on the company's Environmental Impact Statement for the mine.

The board earlier cancelled hearings that were scheduled for the last week of May.

NIRB executive director Stephanie Briscoe said last week the hearings may not be held until fall.

Tahera submitted its EIS for the project to the board in early February.

Intervenors now taking it to task include the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), Environment Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs (DIAND), and Natural Resources Canada.

Most expressed concerns over water management issues and information "deficiencies" in the Tahera plan.

The KIA outlined 18 "significant" concerns and more than 100 others.

Environment Canada said the company "has not collected the appropriate quantity and quality of baseline data to adequately determine the potential effects of the project."

NTI said it won't support construction of the mine "until the company responds to the issues identified."

All of the intervenors have told NIRB they want more information from Tahera on the issues raised.

Tahera vice president Greg Missal said last week the company considers it's working to get the stalled regulatory process back on track "as quickly as possible."

Missal said that will be "crucial" to keep the project on schedule.

Edmonton meeting

The company had hoped to have a green light for the mine by this fall.

Missal said that would allow the firm to order plant equipment later this year and move it to the site by ice road in early 2004.

Missing the 2004 winter haul season will cost the project a year, he said.

That possibility now hangs on how quickly Tahera can address intervenor concerns.

Missal said Tahera has invited all concerned parties to meetings in Edmonton, tentatively scheduled for the week of June 16.

The company will be seeking "negotiated resolutions" with intervenors for the outstanding issues.

Tahera has asked for direction from NIRB on which of the many issues raised the board wants addressed first in order to reschedule the final EIS hearings.

"Tahera believes that some of the items raised go beyond the guidelines for the project and far beyond necessity," Missal told NIRB.

September hearing?

Briscoe said a new date for the final EIS hearings "will be determined by the proponent filing the requested information."

Tahera may have to complete additional field work this summer to address intervenor concerns.

If so, Briscoe said it is unlikely a final EIS hearing will be held until September "at the earliest."

The board typically requires 45 days to reach a decision, she said.

With a green light from NIRB, the project would go to DIAND minister Robert Nault for approval.

Meanwhile, Tahera's stock has taken a beating on the TSX.

The stock was trading at 12 cents at the end of May, down from a 52-week high of 29 cents.

The company has issued nearly 332 million common shares.

Tahera reported a net loss of $529,000 in the first quarter and a declining cash balance of $1.56 million.

Jericho would be Nunavut's first diamond mine.

It is located at the north end of Contwoyto Lake near the Lupin mine, about 425 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

The mine would employ 100 to 175 people over an eight-year life.