Whale Tail to undergo full review
Agnico Eagle Mines expects process will take around two years
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Saturday, August 27, 2016
KIVALLIQ
Agnico Eagle Mines' Whale Tail pit at Amaruq, 50 kms from its Meadowbank mine north of Baker Lake, will undergo a full environmental review, a process that officials with the company say will take two years, more or less.
The proposed Whale Tail pit is part of the Amaruq deposit, 50 kms from the main Meadowbank site. It is proposed to connect to Baker Lake by a winter road. - illustration courtesy of Agnico Eagle Mines
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The Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) released its Aug. 18 screening decision last week.
"After considering submissions from parties and reviewing the project description, on July 21, the NIRB provided its determination that the proposed Whale Tail Pit had not been assessed as part of the original Meadowbank Gold Mine Project, and due to its location outside of the original Meadowbank project footprint, would require a separate screening assessment under the (Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act)," stated board chairperson Elizabeth Copland in a letter to the federal minister responsible and Kivalliq Inuit Association president David Ningeongan.
Although the company requested an amended certificate, the board's decision was not a shock.
"We were approaching it as we did for Vault (pit), as a satellite deposit. However, we knew full well that the NIRB would be looking at it with a broader perspective, looking at all the variables, so it was not a surprise," said Dale Coffin, corporate director of communications at Agnico Eagle.
The original Meadowbank site now contains the Goose, Portage and Vault pits, which lie within seven kms of each other, while the proposed Whale Tail pit is located 50 kms away.
Stephane Robert, Agnico Eagle's manager of regulatory affairs, said the company has already filed its environmental impact statement with NIRB in anticipation of its decision.
The environmental review process is dictated by the act.
"The minister now has 90 days to approve the recommendation made by NIRB. The process won't start until the minster has actually made that approval," said Coffin. "We're optimistic that the approval will come sooner than 90 days. It's pretty obvious what the decision is, we agree with the decision, can the minister now approve it in a time frame that's more efficient. "
The objective remains to narrow the time gap between mining at the three existing pits and mining at Whale Tail. The longer the gap the more of an impact it will have on employment and revenue.
Robert said a full review will include an information request, technical meetings, a pre-hearing conference and a public hearing.
"We expect this process will take around two years," he said.
Coffin says, "The challenge and pressure on us it to minimize that gap."
In her letter to the federal minister, Copeland indicates interested parties support "a thorough but expedited assessment process considering the purpose of the development and the current Meadowbank operations."
The process includes involving Kivalliq communities.
"During the process, NIRB will do some community consultations, but (Agnico Eagle) will do community consultations. We did some before this process began but we will continue in October. We will do the tour of the seven communities in the Kivalliq to explain our project and what are the impacts, and what will be the mitigation plan for this new satellite pit," said Robert, adding the message from communities is they wants jobs to continue in the area.
"For sure they have some concerns about dust, about wildlife, and about archeological sites. Those are all things we took care of in our (environmental impact statement) and will be discussed in the full review."
But Coffin notes it's a much smaller facility than the full Meadowbank facility.
"We're not having to build a processing plant. We're not having to build a tailings management facility. It's developing a pit, all aspects that we've already implemented for the Meadowbank operation, like dewatering, haulage road and building some infrastructure at the site to maintain the pit operations as well as a camp facility for the people working up there.
"There's nothing different than we've already done."
In its determination, NIRB also requests that the federal government supply participant funding.
"Concerns have been previously expressed to the NIRB related to capacity limitations experienced by organizations of potentially impacted communities, partly as a result of the current amount of development occurring within the region. Therefore, the NIRB requests that the minister consider the need for providing participant funding to support a review of this project proposal," stated Copeland in her letter.
