DEH CHO - Canadian Zinc is under a month away from moving their Prairie Creek Mine one step closer to production.

The company plans to submit an application for a Class A water licence to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board by early December, said Alan Taylor, the vice president of exploration and chief operating officer for Canadian Zinc.

From July to October certified toxic waste handlers repacked the cyanide at the Prairie Creek Mine site. The team wore sealed hazmat suits and breathed bottled compressed air during the process. - photo courtesy of Canadian Zinc

The licence is needed for the mine to begin production. To set the stage for the application, staff with Canadian Zinc held a series of open houses in six Deh Cho communities starting in Fort Simpson on Nov. 6. The events were designed to give residents a chance to voice their concerns and get information, said Taylor.

The company feels that they've addressed primary concerns, he said.

The storage of approximately 40 tonnes of cyanide at the mine site has been a long-standing issue for many people, said Taylor.

"We recognize the concern throughout all the communities about the cyanide and where it's stored beside the creek," he said.

To address the issue between July and October, Canadian Zinc employed a team of certified toxic waste handlers to repack the cyanide.

The 50-kilogram steel containers filled with cyanide were placed in more than 900 new oversize steel drums that are certified for transport of dangerous goods. The company is now looking at ways to transport the drums off site.

When completed, the process will have cost more than half a million dollars.

"We'd like to get them off site ASAP," said Taylor.

Another major concern, even for Canadian Zinc itself, is the tailings pond.

There are concerns because the tailings pond is on the flood plain of Prairie Creek and because of the reclamation involved when the mine is eventually closed, said Taylor.

As a solution, the company is proposing to use the pond as a temporary holding site before placing the tailings back into the mine in areas that have been mined out. Mixed with a bit of cement, the tailings are pumped into the mine like toothpaste and harden underground.

"We feel that's the best way we can address concerns of tailings on the flood plain," he said.

A final issue people have brought up is how the mine will be affected by the expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve. The mine will be unaffected, because it has third party access rights, said Taylor.

"We see no reason in the world there can't be a balance of development and conservation there," he said.

Although the company is aware the permitting process could take more than a year, Kearney said they're excited to move forward.

"There's a heck of an opportunity there for everyone involved," he said.

Other organizations are less enthusiastic about Canadian Zinc's plans.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) has a number of concerns with the mine moving towards production, said Karley Ziegler, a conservation coordinator with the CPAWS Northwest Territories chapter.

"As CPAWS has said in the past, the Prairie Creek Mine is in the Nahanni watershed," said Ziegler.

CPAWS is working towards full protection of the South Nahanni watershed and the mine is not compatible with this, Ziegler said.

CPAWS would like to see the mine undergo a full environmental assessment because in their opinion the plan for the mine that is being pushed forward is significantly different than the idea for a silver mine that started in the 1980s.

CPAWS is also questioning some of the company's practices including the plan to use paste backfill to put the tailings back into the mine.

Putting the tailings back underground is an out of sight, out of mind idea, Ziegler said. The mine is in fragile karst lands that are globally significant, she said. Because the exact hydrology of the underground caves isn't totally understood, blocking holes with cement won't have a great effect on the ecology of the area, said Ziegler.

The Dehcho First Nations, who have consistently spoken out against Prairie Creek Mine, are also questioning the plans to move the mine forward.

The mine shouldn't go into production because the Dehcho First Nations are in the process of negotiating with Canada to set up a land use plan and confirm the right to manage our land, said Grand Chief Herb Norwegian.

If the mine went into production they would be stealing resources that belong to the Dene, said Norwegian.

"The cream of the crop will be pocketed by southern companies," said Norwegian.

"And again the Dene will get the royal shaft."

There is also the question of environmental impact.

"Where the mine is situated is a time bomb," said Norwegian.

Norwegian said he's concerned with the possibility of landslides blocking major tributaries to Prairie Creek leading to a flood situation at the mine.

"We could be looking at a major catastrophe here," he said.