Agnico Eagle proposes to empty Nunavut lake, expand open pit mine

Meadowbank’s Goose and Portage Pits are located in close proximity to the mine’s mill, office and lodging infrastructure, while Vault Pit and the proposed expansion into Phaser Lake are located 8 km northeast of the main mine site. (AEM IMAGE)

(Updated, 6:00 a.m., Nov. 21)

The Nunavut Impact Review Board has launched a public review of an application by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. to expand one of the open pit operations at its Meadowbank gold mine site — a move that could extend the mine’s life.

This past July, Agnico Eagle proposed to expand the current Vault Pit operations southwest into nearby Phaser Lake, to form Phaser Pit.

Meadowbank, which was been in operation since 2009, is currently mining three open pits on its site 75 kilometres north of Baker Lake. Those include Goose Pit, Portage Pit and Vault Pit — gold bearing deposits that are expected to be mined until 2018.

In its proposal, Agnico Eagle does not say how the new pit might affect the mine or whether it will extend the mine’s operational lifespan.

But the proposed Phaser Pit is expected to produce 21,511 ounces of gold.

Before Agnico Eagle can start work though, the company would need to begin dewatering the lake’s estimated 700,000 cubic metres, and remove fish from the lake, before mining could begin in 2017.

Agnico Eagle applied for authorization to dewater Phaser Lake in 2012, when a No Net Loss Plan, or NNLP, was approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to cover fisheries losses, the company said in its project description.

The NNLP provides for a “fish-out,” meaning the fish are taken out of the lake and transferred to another body of water.

The company has already dewatered most nearby Vault Lake under the terms of its existing project certificate and started mining there in January 2014, the company said.

And they suggest the NIRB can approve the change on its own, under Section 12.8.2 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which gives the board the flexibility to change a project certificate on its own if certain conditions are met, such as new information.

“AEM believes the Phaser Pit addition is an insignificant change to the project and is within the scope of the original project permitted by NIRB Project Certificate No.4,” the company said.

Phaser Lake has a maximum depth of four to five metres and contains a population of trout and whitefish, AEM said.

As part of the proposed development, Agnico Eagle would be able to use equipment already in use at the Meadowbank site to prepare the new pit.

The NIRB said the Nunavut Planning Commission has already indicated that the project as proposed would not require a new conformity determination.

But the NIRB will have to decide whether it needs to amend Meadowbank’s project certificate, which it first issued in December 2006.

First, the NIRB is looking for feedback to determine if the proposal creates any public concern.

Individuals and groups who wish to do so can submit comments directly to the NIRB at info@nirb.ca on or before Dec. 2, 2014.

This story was updated to clarify the regulatory status of Agnico Eagle’s dewatering plan for Phaser Lake.