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Hope Bay on track for water licence for Doris North Stalled gold project meets little opposition during public hearing
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 22, 2013
IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
TMAC Resources Inc. continues to march ahead with its newly acquired Hope Bay gold project. The most recent milestone, a public hearings regarding a water license renewal and amendment for the project's Doris North deposit, wrapped up July 17 without opposition.
The Nunavut Water Board is expected to make a decision on whether a Type A water licence will be granted to TMAC Resources for the Doris North mine, which is located within the Hope Bay gold project. The decision will then be sent to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development for approval. - photo courtesy of Hope Bay Mining Ltd.
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The hearing was written and not in-person, meaning parties were invited to submit comments to the board for consideration, however there were no responses submitted by communities or members of the public.
The Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada were the only commenters and their submissions were made during the pre-conference hearing phase in earlier weeks.
"The KIA has no concerns with aspects of the application for the amendment and renewal of the captioned Type A water licence for Doris North which seeks a ten year term," stated the associations senior Hope Bay project officer John Roesch.
"KIA respectfully requests that the TMAC licence be issued subject to the requirement to address the KIA issues listed (in this letter)."
The associations concerns centred around potential reporting and monitoring deficiencies.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada makes recommendations on similar topics.
"We concur with the (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development) comments would thank AANDC staff for working through the process with us," states TMAC Resources chief executive officer Catharine Farrow in a letter to the board dated July 8. "TMAC will continue to involve the Kitikmeot Inuit Association in the review process for updating plans associated with the three Hope Bay Water Licenses going forward. The company has a productive dialogue with KIA on a number of issues related to surface land management of the (Inuit-owned lands), which forms the vast majority of the Hope Bay surface regime."
Doris is one of three deposits identified along the Hope Bay Green Stone Belt and the most developed within TMAC's project.
Once the hearings closed, a three-person panel from the Nunavut Water Board took on the task of making a decision on the licence, and is expected to reach a decision within 30 days. The Nunavut Water Board will then submit a decision report to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. The report will contain a draft license if the panel decides to renew the licence.
Hope Bay Mining Ltd., the site's previous owners, had started the renewal and amendment process in September.
TMAC Resources Inc., a mine company specializing in narrow-vein gold mining, bought the project in March.
The Nunavut Water Board determined a full environmental review of the application was necessary under the Nunavut Waters and Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act in October.
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