Noront Eagle s Nest Project: An alternative perspective...

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1 Noront Eagle s Nest Project: An alternative perspective... Prepared By: Mike Hosszu, Gavin Sobil & Rosemarie Needham April 5 th, 2012

2 Overview Noront Eagle s Nest Project (Gavin Sobil) Plans and design Slurry Pipeline What s the Issue? Local Environment (Rosemarie Needham) Systems in place Importance of land Alternative Energy Sources (Mike Hosszu) Food for Thought... Conclusion Questions?

3 Noront: Eagle s Nest Project Located ~500 kilometers NE of Thunder Bay Discovery of a high grade deposit of nickel, copper and platinum group element (PGE) Designed to be built as an underground mine

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6 The Slurry Pipeline Buried slurry pipeline from site to Webequie Junction ~90km Very thick steel with exterior protection and interior liner Monitoring and containment systems Minimize truck traffic

7 Pipeline Details Carbon steel piping with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) liner.7 1 cm thick Pressure and flow transducers spaced along pipeline X-rays will inspect welded areas to ensure that they are done properly

8 Pipeline Repair Inspection of leaks PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) Multiple gauges Repairs done using helicopter; includes excavation, repair of damaged section & removal of contaminated soil

9 Pipeline Failure Figure 1: Frequency of pipeline bursts in Canada from 1991 through to 2009 (Canadian National Energy Board)

10 Common Causes of Ruptures

11 Pipeline Integrity Affected by: Movement of vehicles or equipment over pipelines Construction activities with soil disturbance Construction, landscaping or grading which may result in contact with pipeline

12 Interior Erosion Impacts often underestimated Biofilms accumulate and change metal solution interface making it more susceptible to physical abrasion Physical erosion within pipeline interior is affected by other factors, including temperature, solids concentration and impeller speed Hardness, shape and size of particles can have significant impact on erosion

13 Health Concerns Minerals being mined Platinum (Pt) Palladium (Pd) Nickel (Ni) Copper (Cu)

14 What s the ISSUE? Linear constructions may result in a significant loss of biodiversity at local & regional level large edge effect Underground pipelines alter hydrology, thermal regime, soil structure and vegetation of ecosystem

15 Ontario s Far North 42% of provincial land area 3 rd largest wetland in world Hudson Bay Lowlands 2/3 of HBL is peatland, 2 nd largest area of contiguous peatland in world First Nations 24,000 people in 34 communities Forests & peatlands store > 97 billion tonnes of carbon Filter Ontario's air, absorbing 12.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (PDK Projects Inc, 2006) Source: OMNR

16 Peatlands > 30 cm of highly organic peat Approx 90-95% water when saturated Flooded forests, shrublands, dunes and meadows to continually water-saturated peatlands, fens, forests, marshes and tundra 1-metre build up in 1,000 years

17 Peatlands play an important function in: Recharging aquifers Absorbing & filtering contaminants Regulating river flow Providing habitat Storing & releasing greenhouse gases

18 Advantage of peatlands Figure 1: Diagram of the acrotelm and the catotelm (PERG, 2008) Decomposition of moss plays a major role in carbon accumulation Thickening of catotelm, carbon is sequestered Rapidly decomposing vascular plants have lower carbon storage

19 Permafrost Composed up of dead plant and animal material; prevents the release of stored carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) Increased temperatures results in permafrost melting Carbon source rather than a carbon sink, i.e., tipping point

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21 First Nations Land Water used for drinking food transportation First Nations depend on species of plants & animals for sustenance traditional healthier cheaper (Tough, F., 2000)

22 Energy

23 Electricity from diesel About 50 remote communities obtain electricity from diesel generators 26 First Nations supplied by winter roads 8 million litres of diesel transported at minimum cost of $9 million/year

24 Diesel health effects California Air Resources Board (CARB) reports > 40 toxic air contaminants in diesel exhaust Cancer-causing contaminants benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde & nitrogen oxides Diesel particulates 1/5 thickness of a human hair Deep inhalation of particles cause them to penetrate deep into lungs Long term exposure to diesel exhaust particles is highest cancer risk of any toxic air contaminant evaluated by CARB

25 Three options 1. Connect to Ontario grid 2. Explore greener energy generation options 3. Do both

26 Conventional Hydro Reliable, efficient & proven technology Can create large amounts of power with a large enough dam Steady flow & amount of power Floods large areas Can affect fish populations & distributions

27 Run of river hydro Reliable technology Much less invasive on river systems Requires small dam-like structure, very little flooding Creates less power with uneven flow & no storage Community of Deer Lake (NL) saved $ in diesel in

28 Wind power Very site specific, need to measure over a year Proven, reliable and getting cheaper every year Low maintenance costs

29 Solar power photovoltaic Lowest maintenance of all technologies No emissions or noise Modular can be added to over time Currently expensive though panel prices have dropped 50% in last 15years

30 Solar thermal-heat One of oldest green technologies in existence Can be used for heating water &/or infloor heating Short payback time, typically 7-8 years

31 Community options Mine requires 25Mw of power Run of river less invasive than conventional hydro Years of contract 10 MW Waterpower 1,2,3 Power output Cents/kw hr. If connected to grid, community can explore clean technologies Landfill gas to sell power to OPA 1,2 & reduce diesel use > 10 MW 50 MW MW > 10 MW Solar PV Rooftop 250 kw Rooftop > kw Rooftop > 500 kw Ground Mounted 2, 4 10 MW Wind 2 Onshore Any size Feed-in Tariff Rates for Renewable Energy Projects

32 FOOD FOR THOUGHT... Looking at the past 2 centuries, up to 68% of wetlands in southern Ontario & 70% of prairie wetlands have been lost. We continue to experience this loss today... (Global Forest Watch Canada, nd)

33 Should we be using the same approach with the Far North? Or should Canada take a proactive planning approach to protect this environment which is so critical to our future?

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