Nunavut residents ask about land, animals, jobs at Doris mine

Western Nunavut residents say they’re concerned about tailings pond treatments, animal migration routes and jobs when it comes to the Doris North gold mining proposal, according to a Nunavut Impact Review Board summary of community meetings released Aug. 19.

The NIRB staff travelled to five communities in the Kitikmeot region between April 29 and May 2 for one-day public information sessions and to collect feedback, although the Gjoa Haven session was cancelled due to weather, and people in Kugaaruk didn’t submit any feedback.

In the other three communities — Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay and Taloyoak — residents raised several concerns about TMAC Resources Inc.’s gold mine proposal, which includes plan to have cyanide-treated mine tailings sanitized and eventually discharged into Roberts Bay by way of overland pipes.

“Cyanide is a dangerous substance, how are you going to protect the water?” a Taloyoak resident asked.

“How will water pipelines affect migration routes of land animals?” a resident in Cambridge Bay asked.

According to TMAC, water discharged into Robert’s Bay would be monitored, but people wanted to know how often monitoring would occur.

The Doris North Mine Project lies about 100 kilometres south of Cambridge Bay and is part of the 80-km Hope Bay greenstone belt, believed to hold at least nine million ounces of gold.

TMAC acquired the mine from Newmont Mining Corp. — the third largest gold mining company in the world — in 2013, after Newmont had shut down development of the mine.

TMAC proposed amendments to the original mine plans, approved in 2006, in an application to the NIRB in 2013, the NIRB’s consultation summary said.

Among the proposed amendments, TMAC wants to increase the mine’s lifespan to up to six years, nearly triple the amount of ore the company hopes to mine every year and to create a tailngs pond where waste can be treated and then returned to Robert’s Bay, according to the NIRB document.

Another environmental issue raised by a Taloyoak resident concerned the amount of garbage mine workers would create at the camp.

“Will it be removed from the camp? Bury it or place it in a land fill?” the resident asked.

Community members also expressed hope that subcontracting jobs would become available through the mine, as well as training and education opportunities for youth and adults alike.

“Some of us have not completed [our education], but are capable of learning just as well as those with trades and knowledge,” one resident said.

The comments and questions raised during the public information sessions may be used in the NIRB’s consideration of TMAC’s proposed amendments to the mine’s certificate, the document said.