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| November 06, 2014 --- Vol. 08, No. 45 | November 2014
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Northwest Territories
PERMITTING – The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board Nov. 4 said it has received notification Robert McLeod, Minister of Lands, that the Government of the Northwest Territories has accepted a Report of Environmental Assessment and Reasons for Decision for the Snap Lake Diamond Mine Amendment Project. The report of assessment includes recommendations intended to protect the aquatic environment, human health and traditional use of areas downstream of the Snap Lake Diamond Mine. The project may now proceed to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board for permitting. The review board recognizes that this is the first environmental assessment decision by the territorial government since the devolution by the Canadian government of land and resource management in the NWT. The Review Board had released a report recommending to the Minister of Lands that an amendment to the application for licensing for the Snap Lake Mine proceed to the regulatory phase for approvals, subject to measures that mitigate adverse environmental impacts. The Report of EA describes the board’s environmental assessment findings. The environmental assessment was coordinated with the regulatory process of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. Requiring a total of seven and a half months, this was the shortest environmental assessment conducted by the review board to date. The Snap Lake Amendment Project, proposed by De Beers Canada Inc., consists of increasing the concentration of total dissolved solids and some of its constituents (chloride, fluoride, nitrate, strontium, and sulphate) discharged from the Snap Lake Diamond Mine into Snap Lake. De Beers has applied to increase these concentrations to a value that is above the current water license limit, which is based on a measure from a previous environmental assessment. After careful consideration, the Review Board concluded that the project, as proposed, is likely to cause significant adverse environmental impacts. These impacts will be minimized by the measures set out in the review board’s report of EA. The measures will ensure the water in Snap Lake is safe to drink and the fish are safe to eat and that contaminants released from the Snap Lake Mine do not adversely affect the Snap Lake ecosystem, downstream ecosystems and traditional uses. They also will require additional water treatment or other approved mitigation measures to achieve the above objectives. De Beers has committed to keeping the water safe to drink, fish safe to eat, and maintaining the ecosystem function in Snap Lake. In the opinion of the Review Board, the above measures and the commitments described in the Report of EA will mitigate significant adverse impacts and address public concern. The board recommends approval subject to these measures and commitments. The Review Board intends that the measures, if approved, will replace measures that set limits on total dissolved solids from the previous Snap Lake Diamond Mine Report of Environmental Assessment. The Report of EA has been sent to the Minister of Lands for his consideration. Once the Report of EA is accepted by the minister, the Snap Lake Amendment Project can move to the permitting and licensing phase. The Review Board’s Report of EA for the Snap Lake Amendment Project (EA1314-02) is available online in the public registry at: http://www.reviewboard.ca/
TUNGSTEN – North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd. Nov. 3 reported the filing of “Technical Report on the Cantung Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada,” dated Sept. 19, 2014. The report includes updated reserves and resources that support an extended mine life beyond 2017. Since the previous update in 2011, North American Tungsten has extracted more than 1.4 million tons of ore at Cantung, yet probable reserve estimates have increased from the 1.69 million tons reported then to the current estimate of 1.82 million tons. The report can be found under the North American Tungsten Corporation profile at www.sedar.com.
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