February 2017 Environmental Update for SLEMA Board Zhong Liu February 28, 2017

Transcription

1 February 2017 Environmental Update for SLEMA Board Zhong Liu February 28, 2017

2 1. Mine Update 2. Inspection Update Outline 3. Regulators Update 4. Aboriginal Update 5. Stakeholders Update 6. Agency s Activities 7. SLEMA Reviews

3 Acronyms AEMP Aquatic Effects Monitoring Program ARD Acid Rock Drainage DFO Fisheries and Oceans Canada ECCC Environment and Climate Change Canada ECM Extended Care and Maintenance ENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources, GNWT EQC Effluent Quality Criterion GNWT Government of the Northwest Territories INAC Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (formerly Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada [AANDC]) MVEIRB Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board MVLWB Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board PK Processed Kimberlite SLEMA Snap Lake Environmental Monitoring Agency SNP Surveillance Network Program SSWQO Site-Specific Specific Water Quality Objective TDS Total Dissolved Solids WEMP Wildlife Effects Monitoring Program WTP Water Treatment Plant WMP Water Management Pond

4 1.1 Mine Update January 2017 The Snap Lake Mine remained in suspended operations (Extended Care and Maintenance) Underground retreat and flooding commenced on January 11 No kimberlite processed, and no processed kimberlite deposited in the North Pile 3,428 m 3 of water withdrawn from Snap Lake 899,683 m 3 of treated water discharged into Snap Lake One reportable spill 2 m 3 of raw sewage from the pipe near the Water Management Pond (WMP) Water sampled in 7 monitoring stations The monthly average for all parameters met compliance

5 1.2 Overview for Information on Proposed Amendments to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) Dated December 2016, received on February 3, 2017 The MMER include environmental effects monitoring, and proposed amendments to the MMER include adding diamond mines to the mines regulated by the MMER Information Session in Yellowknife will be either March 15 th or 16 th.

6 1.3 Requested Revision SLEMA Core Funding Dated Feb. 7, 2017 SLEMA submitted a budget proposal of $426, De Beers requested SLEMA consider a reduction of its budget to $371,692 De Beers is trying to reduce annual costs during the Extended Care and Maintenance period (at least 3 years or more) At the time of this letter, the Snap Lake Mine underground workings are no longer discharging water onto surface

7 2. Inspection Update Inspector Jamie Steele Water Licence Inspections January 5 and 6, and January 30, 2017 No inspection reports received in February 2017

8 3. Regulators Update MVLWB No decisions made in February 2017

9 4. Aboriginal Update No comments received in February 2017

10 5. Stakeholders Update Environment and Natural Resources issue #9 of the NWT Environmental Research Bulletin (NERB) series highlights Caribou, Mining Operation and the Zone of Influence Published in February

11 5.1 Caribou, Mining Operation and the Zone of Influence The Zone of Influence (ZOI) refers to the distance at which caribou change their behavior due to the influence of an industrial development such as a mine Measuring the ZOI is important because it can be used to track the impacts to caribou of avoiding industrial development

12 SMART Project Satellite Monitoring for Assessing Resource Development s Impact on Bathurst Caribou Funded by NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP) Focused on measuring the distance that dust, noise and visual disturbance can be detected from the Ekati mine Zone of Disturbance (ZOD<=ZOI) ZOI) Zone of Visual Disturbance (ZOVD) Zone of Dust Disturbance (ZODD) Zone of Noise Disturbance (ZOND)

13 Preliminary Results Zone of Visual Disturbance (ZOVD) Sighting method may be feasible for monitoring the ZOVD Zone of Dust Disturbance (ZODD) The soil ph gradient method can be used to measure the ZODD (strongly alkaline ph 9 to slightly acidic ph 5) 1,760 ± 469 meters from the Misery Road 1,220 ± 290 meters from the Sable Road 1,080 ± 278 meters from the Fox Road Zone of Noise Disturbance (ZOND) Challenges related to wind-induce induce recording noise and the ability of caribou to hear high frequencies than a human

14 Comments from the Environmental Analyst The measuring methods may be applied in Snap Lake ZODD could be calculated if soil ph data are available Due to the suspended operations, the dust, noise and visual disturbance are expected to be low Data collection for wildlife monitoring is needed

15 6. Agency s Activities SLEMA executive meeting held in Yellowknife on February 23, 2017 Revised agency budget was discussed

16 7. SLEMA Reviews Case Study for Care and Maintenance Jericho Diamond Mine

17 7.1 Case Study for Care and Maintenance Jericho Diamond Mine The Jericho Diamond Mine is Nunavut s first and only diamond mine The site consists of a single open pit mine, processing facility, Processed Kimberlite Containment Areas (PKCA) and stockpiles, as well as a camp and support buildings to house approximately 200 persons, fuel tank farm with capacity for 13 million litres of fuel, an airstrip, and roads connecting site infrastructure. t The mine is located on Crown land, with access and other infrastructure, including an explosives storage area and emulsion plant situated on Inuit Owned Land

18 Location of Jericho Mine

19 History of Jericho Diamond Mine : 2008: constructed and operated by Tahera Diamond Corp. Type A Water Licence 2AM-JER0410 ( ) 2012) : 2012: operated by Shear Diamond Corp. under care and maintenance Type A Water Licence 2AM-JER1119 ( ) 2019) 2014-Now: assumed control again by INAC Environment Site Assessment by EBA in December 2014 Federal Contaminated t Sites Inventory Identifier Jericho Mine Site Stabilization Project, completed screening in NIRB

20 Temporary Closure in 2008 Tahera filed for creditor protection in January 2008, citing insufficient funds to operate, and the Jericho Mine site was subsequently placed into care and maintenance Indian and Northern Affairs Canada intervened in December 2008 to assume control of the Jericho Mine site and to complete temporary closure of the site to regulatory standards

21 Temporary Closure in 2012 In October 2012 Shear provided a temporary closure plan and notice that the required environmental monitoring would be suspended The Plan described the temporary shutdown list of August 31 to September 2, 2012, and 3 site visits scheduled in November 2012, April 2013 and May/early June 2013 On March 8, 2013 AANDC issued notice to Shear that due to its continual failure to manage specific environmental issues on-site, AANDC s Contaminated Sites Program would be conducting periodic work at the Jericho Mine site to manage the specific issues identified

22 Fuel barrels left at the site of the Jericho Diamond mine. When Shear walked away in 2012, it left behind improperly p stored waste and untreated fuel spills (Courtesy AANDC)

23 INAC Inspections Normally 2 inspections per year Inspection report in 2013 found deterioration of the site s s facilities The site was not adequately closed down in September 2012, and is not in compliance with the company s water licence Shear failed to return to the site in the winter to complete the shutdown Shear continues to contravene conditions of its water licence and other regulations Shear still owes money for a security deposit to cover potential reclamation costs

24 Securities (I) Shear was required to provide Water Licence securities totaling $3,389,074 to INAC to be held in trust A Compliance Plan on the NWB s pubic registry site at the end of 2012 which noted that it was not in a financial position to provide the outstanding securities amount of $321,074

25 Securities (II) On December 19, 2013 AANDC provided additional detail on the status of the securities, indicating that: the Department currently has $6,618,556 in cash- equivalent and $1,701,858 in debentured security under the Crown land lease and type A water license for the Jericho mine site. The work done on-site by the Department from June to October 2013 to manage water levels and ensure tailings management is maintained has cost approximately $232,000

26 Declared Abandoned On January 22, 2014 AANDC released correspondence indicating that the site was declared abandoned by Shear and that the Minister had the authority to take any reasonable measures to prevent, counteract, mitigate t or remedy any resulting adverse effects on persons, property or the environment regarding the Jericho mine site, with specific direction that the decision does not terminate any of Shear s existing obligations under the legislation or regulatory instruments

27 Deteriorating structure and storage buildings located on-site (Courtesy NIRB)

28 Panoramic view of the tire wall bordering the processed kimberlite containment area (Courtesy NIRB)

29 Water in Phase 2 of the main fuel tank farm (Courtesy NIRB)

30 Cell B/C water level as seen during the 2016 site visit by the NIRB Project Monitoring officer and INAC Inspector (Courtesy NIRB)

31 Debris observed on-site (Courtesy NIRB)

32 Stewardship AANDC subsequently in January 2014 assumed control of the site, which enabled it to draw upon security bonding to facilitate continued site care and maintenance and potential future remediation as may be required In October 2014 the Nunavut Court of Justice transferred the Jericho mining leases and person property located on Crown lands to the Crown

33 Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan FCSAP is a 15-year, $4.54 billion program that was established in 2005 by the Government of Canada The primary objective of FCSAP is to reduce environmental and human health risks from known federal contaminated sites and associated federal financial liabilities In Phases I and II ( and ), 2016), the federal departments responsible for contaminated sites (also referred to as custodians) made significant progress in assessing and remediating sites FCSAP Phase III ( ) 2020) allows this work to continue, with a focus on remediating the highest priority sites

34 Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (FCSI) Classification Suspected Active Closed Total Type Total 2,406 5,333 15,382 23,121 High Priority for ,637 Action Medium Priority for Action 0 1,754 1,361 3,115 Low Priority for Action Insufficient Information Not a Priority for Action Site(s) not yet classified 2 1, , ,355 2,755 2, ,453 12,802

35 FCSI Identifier Jericho Diamond Mine Contaminant Type: Metal, metalloid and organometallic, PHCs (petroleum hydrocarbons) Media Type: Soil Estimated Contamination Amount: 7,918 Cubic Meters Status: Detailed testing completed. Remedial action plan under development Classification: 1 High Priority for Action

36 Recent Development (I) Vancouver junior mining company Crystal Exploration put forward a proposal in 2016 for INAC to delay spending an estimated $10 million to destroy and relocate assets at the site until Crystal could examine adjacent exploration licenses and devise a plan to use Jericho as a staging and diamond processing area INAC said no thanks to that t INAC has determined that Crystal Exploration is not currently in a position to provide the necessary security and take on the liability at this time

37 Recent Development (II) INAC recognizes the potential of site infrastructure and as a result, plans to leave the door open for future activity at Jericho Although the proposed project may somewhat diminish the site assets, the majority of the important mine infrastructure (i.e. the truck shop, processing plant and airstrip) would remain intact, INAC would be open to revisiting the re- commercialization of the mine at a future date after the site stabilization was complete..

38 Jericho Mine Site Stabilization Project Environment Site Assessment by EBA in December 2014 The main tasks are to re-establish establish the natural drainage flow into the pit and breaching dams to allow surface water flow out of the Processed Kimberlite Containment Area Funded through the 2016 Federal Infrastructure Initiative Completed screening in NIRB in December 2016 Clean-up to be completed by spring 2018 Proposed activities are necessary to Restore the site to an environmentally safe condition Prevent ent environmental migration of contaminants into the surrounding ecosystem Stabilize the site to prevent water accumulation

39 Project Stakeholders Proponents: Tahera Shear INAC NIRB: EA and project monitoring NWB: water licence and land use permit KIA: land tenure permits INAC: primary regulator, project inspector leases, land use permit and water licence DFO: Fisheries Authorization NRCan: explosives licence

40 Jericho vs. Snap Lake Jericho Snap Lake Operator Tahera, then Shear De Beers Type of Mining Company Junior Senior Grade (carat per tonne) Type of Mining Open pit Underground Processing Capacity (tonne per day) 2,200 3,150 Temporary Closure 2008 and and 2009 Securities $8.3M $80.4M Inspector INAC Lands Department of GNWT Independent Monitoring Agency N/A SLEMA

41 Comments from the Environmental Analyst (I) Some lessons learned from Jericho care and maintenance It is questionable whether Shear Diamonds Ltd. is a qualified buyer Care and Maintenance requires commitment, and financial and technical support Lacking in closure planning will result in negative legacies for taxpayers

42 Comments from the Environmental Analyst (II) Some issues/areas of concern identified in Jericho Inspection Reports, to be communicated to the Snap Lake Inspector Site water management Water levels in sumps/ponds Contact water within fuel tank farm and other bermed areas Windblown fine processed kimberlite tailings Fuel storage Unauthorized party access