Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Friday, April 27, 2007

FORT SIMPSON - After close to four years of waiting, Canadian Zinc has been granted a land use permit to operate a winter road to their Prairie Creek mine site.

"It's an important step forward," said John Kearney, the company's chairman.

Issued on April 11, the five-year permit allows the company to rehabilitate, maintain and use their winter road. The process to get the permit took longer than expected, said Kearney.

On June 15, 2003, Canadian Zinc applied to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board for a land use permit to re-develop an existing winter road.

The 170-kilometre long route once connected the mine to the Liard highway near Lindberg's Landing.

The road was built by Cadillac Explorations Ltd., the mine's previous owner and developer, in 1980. The road was used from 1981 to 1982 to bring more than 700 loads of material, machinery, equipment and supplies to the site. The road was then allowed to lapse in 1983 when the company went bankrupt.

With the land use permit now in place, Kearney said the winter road will be used to resupply the mine.

Since reopening the site, the only access has been by air. With weight and weather restrictions, large bulk items such as modern and efficient drilling machines for exploration and other underground equipment that is needed couldn't be brought in, he said.

The company is also looking forward to replenishing the mine's diesel fuel supply, said Kearney. Although the storage tanks still hold enough fuel for the season, a close watch on the level would have been needed to ensure there was enough left for the ongoing maintenance of the site.

Some residents of Nahanni Butte are upset by the decision to grant the land use permit.

"I know a lot of people are upset," said Peter Marcellais the acting chief.

Residents of Nahanni Butte, the community closest to the road and the mine, raised objections to the reopening the road.

"We didn't want the road to go through," said Marcellais.

Concerns centred around how the road would open up traditional lands. Community members are afraid that other people will use the road to hunt in the area. There are also a number of trap lines in near the road, said Marcellais.

Community members have also voiced concerned about whether or not the cyanide at the mine will be taken out on the road. People are afraid that if there's an accident it will contaminate the local watershed, said Marcellais.

Because the decision has been made to grant the land use permit, Marcellais said community members are unsure what can be done now.

Canadian Zinc wants to ensure that any potential impacts of the road are minimized, said Kearney.

The company is willing to follow the conditions that were listed by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) in a report on crown consultation to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, Kearney said.

One of the reasons for the delay in the land use permit process was the Nahanni Butte Dene Band's assertion that the road would interfere with its aboriginal and treaty rights and that residents hadn't been properly consulted. The case was referred to INAC in October 2005. They submitted a report of the consultation on Feb. 14, 2007.

The company is willing to follow the suggested conditions including hiring an environmental monitor from a local community.

"We want to try and work with everybody and minimize any potential impacts the road might have," said Kearney.

Work to re-establish the road will begin this season, said Alan Taylor, the vice-president and chief operating officer for Canadian Zinc.

During the summer months the details of the level of work required to re-establish the road will be sorted out, said Taylor. The extent of the work will be partially determined by the types of loads that will be moved over it in the winter of 2007-2008.

The company hopes to create local jobs and employ local contractors to do the necessary work, Taylor said.

The company has previously stated that road access would allow them to remove the 40 tonnes of unneeded cyanide stored at the mine site. The pros and cons of such a plan are now being assessed, said Taylor.