Radio consultation planned in Kuujjuaq for northern Quebec iron mine project

The Kativik Environmental Quality Commission plans to hold a public consultation on the Kuujjuaq community radio network so people can discuss the impacts of a new iron ore mining project.

Tata Steel Minerals Canada Ltd., a joint venture between India’s Tata Steel Ltd. and New Millenium Iron Corp., has already started iron mine projects in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The company’s Nunavik mine site is now undergoing environmental and social impact assessments.

Tata Canada wants to develop a mine about 50 kilometres northwest of Schefferville, which would produce more than 30 million tonnes of iron ore between 2013 and 2021.

Tata’s Project 2A would include two open-pit mines known as Goodwood and Sunny 1 as well as other infrastructure.

The year-round mine would produce ore which would be hauled by train to Sept-Iles for shipping to European markets.

Total annual production of ore from the mine has been estimated at about 29 million tonnes from the Goodwood site and 3.5 million tonnes from Sunny 1.

Tata’s four-mine 1A project, located entirely in Newfoundland and Labrador, is scheduled to go into production later in 2012.

That’s where the ore extracted from the Goodwood and Sunny 1 sites would be processed; it’s also where project 2A’s workers would be lodged.

If the project moves ahead, the rock from the Goodwood and Sunny 1 pits will be drilled, blasted and loaded into trucks to be delivered to the Labrador site, meaning no tailings will be produced or left in Quebec.

Both projects are among 25 iron deposits Tata is currently developing in Quebec and Labrador.

But project 2A is set to develop in a region that hasn’t seen this level of industrial activity before.

Some potential impacts to the surrounding ecosystem have been already flagged, such as impacts on air quality and groundwater and the noise production which could disturb migrating caribou.

Public consultations were held April 12 in the Naskapi community in Kawawachickamach. An April 11 radio consultation scheduled for Kuujjuaq was postponed, but the KEQC plans to reschedule that consultation later this month.

The KEQC, established under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, is responsible for implementing environmental and social impacts assessments and reviews for development projects proposed within the region of Nunavik.

Anyone who wishes to participate in the consultation or submit a project brief should contact the KEQC office at 819-964-2961 ext. 2322 or by email at secretariat@keqc-cqek.ca.

A project overview and other background documents are available here.