New road brings new problems for Baker Lake mine

SARA MINOGUE

A 70-kilometre road into the tundra northwest of Baker Lake will be the first of its kind in Nunavut, and the Nunavut Impact Review Board wants to know more about who will use it, how often, and with what vehicles, before giving Cumberland Resources their final decision on the proposed Meadowbank Gold Mine.

Last week, NIRB sent a letter to the Vancouver-based mining company requesting more details on the impact of the road that Cumberland plans to build to access its proposed mine.

The letter quotes Andy Scott, the former Liberal minister of Indian and Northern Affairs:

“An all-weather road of this scale would be the first of its kind in Nunavut. Given the fact that the road is connected to the community of Baker Lake, it is essential that the environmental and socio-economic effects of its construction, use and eventual abandonment, be fully considered as well as possible future uses for the road.”

The new road could put pressure on delicate species, such as wolverine and bears, if local hunters can get easier access to hunting grounds. The road could also bring with it car accidents, and something else that’s still rare in Nunavut: roadkill.

Before allowing the road to go ahead, NIRB is asking Cumberland to produce details on the impact of the road on Baker Lake residents, and the surrounding wildlife.

It’s not clear whether the road will be open to the public, but NIRB’s executive director, Stephanie Briscoe, wrote in a letter that “these impacts will likely occur, unless the Kivalliq Inuit Association and governments ban all private travel, which evidence the board did not hear.”

The April 24 letter also included two more requests.

Before making its decision, NIRB wants to see a copy of the Inuit Impacts and Benefits Agreement worked out between Cumberland and the KIA. That agreement was completed in April, but was not included as an exhibit in the NIRB hearings, “for understandable confidential reasons,” the letter notes.

The letter also notes that finalizing the IIBA in advance of a NIRB hearing makes it difficult for the board to assess the socio-economic impact of the mine on non-Inuit residents, who are not considered in the IIBA.

“It is the view of the board that it would lose jurisdiction by saying first, that the project’s effects are all dealt with in the IIBA, and if they are not, that they will be taken care of by somebody else,” Briscoe said.

The other request concerns Chesterfield Inlet, which lies on the mouth of the river where Cumberland will run barges in the summer shipping season.

“[T]he board heard from residents that they still needed more information on the project, and that any consultation that was done was too brief,” Briscoe said.

Chesterfield Inlet residents still aren’t clear on whether local “monitors” would be able to ride aboard the barges.

They also want to know where exactly fuel will be transferred, and what will happen in the event of an accident.

Evidence in the hearings so far has shown conflicting information: fuel transfers could either happen at the mouth of the bay, or much further in-stream at Helicopter Island.

While the requests do not signal a “no” decision to the proposed mine, these requests could impose considerable delays on the construction of the mine, which the company hoped would by running by 2008.

“While we will respond to the NIRB’s request as soon as possible, the constraints of seasonal shipping could hinder this year’s proposed construction activities and potentially delay the development of the project by six to 12 months,” said Kerry Curtis, president and CEO of Cumberland, in a press release.

Cumberland recently struck a financing deal with three European banks that will fund the mine, which will be the largest open-pit gold mine in Canada. But the company will not see this loan, worth $250 million, until all of its permitting, including permission from the NIRB, is complete.

Share prices for the company dropped 50 cents on the day after Meadowbank announced the possible delay, dipping to $4.27 last Wednesday from $4.72 the previous day.

As of this past Tuesday, share prices were steadily climbing, still down from high of $5.23 at the close of April 17.