SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
De Beers is threatening to shut down its Snap Lake diamond mine if it's not allowed to nearly triple the material it dissolves into the lake, but First Nations are objecting to the company's proposal.
Erica Bonhomme, environmental manager with De Beers Canada, and Peter Chapman, environmental scientist with Golder Associates, field questions from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. The two-day meeting March 11 and 12 focused on water quality in Snap Lake. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
Two days of meetings last Wednesday and Thursday in Dettah focussed on the diamond company's proposed water licence amendment before the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board that would increase allowable total dissolved solid (TDS) levels to 1,000 milligrams per litre in Snap Lake, from the current 350 milligrams per litre limit.
"Snap Lake Mine ... cannot continue to operate if a level of TDS is set that is not sustainable," said Glen Koropchuk, chief operating officer with De Beers Canada.
Unsustainable, he said, would be any level lower than De Beers is proposing.
"Throughout the mining process, the fish will be safe to eat and the water safe to drink," Koropchuk repeated, though De Beers acknowledges the taste of the water will be different.
Koropchuk said TDS numbers are rising faster than predictions made in the mine's original environmental assessment. He explained the reason is naturally-occurring, salty water underground.
Erica Bonhomme, environmental manager for the mine, said water pumped to the surface from underground mine works accounts for 99 per cent of all water discharged into Snap Lake.
That water is coming from cracks in both the upper and lower levels of the mine.
The water from the lower level has an average concentration of more than 4,000 milligrams per litre and is the greatest contributor to TDS in mine water, said Bonhomme.
Todd Slack, negotiator with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, wants a maximum TDS level of 684 milligrams per litre.
"The Yellowknives want to ensure that the taste of the water returns to normal as quickly as possible after closure," he said.
De Beers' current estimate is that the water taste will return to normal four to seven years after closure of the mine in 2028.
Bonhomme said a mandate of 684 milligrams per litre cannot be met at Snap Lake Mine.
"Such a condition would require closure of the mine," she said.
The company has invested $2 million on a prototype of a device that could help De Beers manage its TDS levels.
"Reverse osmosis technology is proven but it is not a silver bullet," said Koropchuk,
He argued that scientific evidence is clear that the TDS level De Beers wants is safe for the water.
While the board comes to its decision, Koropchuk is asking for an interim TDS level allowed of 850 milligrams per litre.
"We didn't want to be a company that continually is out of compliance," he said.
"That's just not the way we do business around the world."
Slack also wants to ensure the effluent "plume" doesn't reach MacKay Lake, downstream from Snap Lake. He said testing has shown there is biological toxicity above his proposed range.
"MacKay Lake is a very important cultural area," he said. "It's the site of the fall hunt, it's a site of traditional on-the-land programs. The band maintains cabins and infrastructure there to support these activities. It's always been an important site and we want to ensure there is no impact to the area."
Dettah Chief Ed Sangris said he must see some benefits from the mine.
"Right now, our way of life is hugely being impacted," said Sangris. "I want my people to be able to go out there one day at Snap Lake and dip the water and drink it."
The mine is 220 km northeast of Yellowknife.
He said De Beers should have done its homework earlier in the mine development.
"If we had done this right from the beginning, we wouldn't be having these kind of sittings every three years now," he said.
Sangris said the Yellowknives Dene will be in the area long after mining is done.
"We have to live with what's left behind," he said.
Snap Lake Mine has been in operation for seven years with "many challenges," he said, including never turning a profit.
"Members of our (impact benefit agreement) communities will know that, because we have not been able to make profit-related payments to date," said Koropchuk.
The company has spent $2.4 billion to build and operate the mine, $1.5 billion of which was spent with Northwest Territories companies, including $865 million with aboriginal firms and joint ventures.
Almost 800 people work in the underground mine, including approximately 300 NWT residents.
The mine has paid $192 million in salaries and $44 million in taxes and bridge tolls.
Koropchuk estimated another billion dollars of investment if the mine runs until 2028.
The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board is expected to make a decision by the end of March, according to its timeline.
