November 6, 1998

Smaller, leaner mine envisioned for Voisey's Bay

Environmental panel reviews plans for disposing of waste rock, tailings at future nickel operation.

JULIE GREEN
Special to Nunatsiaq News

HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY — A proposed nickel mine in northern Labrador may be much smaller than originally planned.

Voisey Bay Nickel Company (VBNC) told a federal environmental review panel last month that it intends to mine just 32 million tonnes of high grade nickel, plus smaller amounts of copper and cobalt at the Voisey's Bay site, 35 kilometres south of Nain.

Company president Stuart Gendron informed the environmental review panel in a letter that VBNC does not plan to extend the life of the open pit mine by going underground, unless world nickel prices improve substantially.

That means an additional estimated 118 million tonnes will remain untouched, for now.

In its open pit phase, the mine and adjacent processing mill is expected to operate seasonally, employing 400 people for seven to eight years.

Gendron's letter arrived at the end of six days of technical hearings into the mine's potential impact on fish, birds, animals and water in the region.

The five-person panel listened to engineers describe what the company proposes to do with 15,000 tonnes of mine-tailings the mine is expected to produce each day.

The company plans to store the potentially toxic tailings under water in a nearby pond, which is to be sealed with two dams to prevent leakage into surrounding water ways.

Consultants hired by the labrador Inuit Association (LIA) and the Innu Nation warned that any failure of these dams could be devastating and urged the company to seek other methods for disposing of the tailings and waste rock.

"The Inuit experience is one where they're constantly reassured by people with technology that they will have all the answers, and they have more than a few examples where those answers were not correct," Judy Rowell, environmental advisor to the LIA said.

Federal and provincial environmental officials, however, say they are satisfied with the company's waste-disposal plan, as long as its environmental effects are carefully monitored.

Company officials characterized the proposed mine's effects on wildlife as minor, but at least one hunter voiced concern over the proximity of the mine's airstrip to a productive bird habitat known as Gooseland.

"We believe that migratory birds will abandon an area that is one of the most significant in the region," said LIA member Ron Webb.

The Canadian Wildlife Service also pointed out that nearby streams provide significant habitat for the harlequin duck, an endangered species.