BAIE VERTE, NL — Municipal Affairs and Environment Minister Eddie Joyce has approved final guidelines for preparation of the environmental preview report for the Baie Verte tailings management facility expansion.
The guidelines identify information Rambler Metals and Mining Canada Limited must include in its report. The information will assist the minister in determining whether an environmental impact statement will be required.
In December, Rambler registered a proposal to expand its tailing management facility at the Nugget Pond mill site on the Baie Verte Peninsula for environmental assessment. The expansion would accommodate tailings from current and future mining operations at Rambler’s Ming copper and gold mine, which has been in production since 2011.
The current mining of high grade copper ore, in addition to newly confirmed resources, will increase the production rate to 1,250 metric tonnes per day.
The existing tailings impoundment does not have sufficient volume to contain the expected tailings generated from future mining operations. The company also disclosed a new life of mine plan — about 5.6 cubic millimetres (Mm3) over the next 20 years — identifying the need for another storage facility.
The new tailings impoundment is proposed for Camp Pond, a fishless body of water close to the mill. It was selected for its stability, proximity to the mill, and predicted low environmental impact on the surrounding area, according to the registration document. This impoundment would accommodate tailings from 2019-2025.
Public comments were due Jan. 18, with the minister’s decision due Jan. 27. Announcement that an environmental preview report would be required was made Jan. 31, and an environmental assessment committee was appointed Feb. 15. The environmental preview report guidelines were issued March 22.
The extensive list of guidelines includes a preliminary dam design, detailed information regarding potential effects on the environment and proposed mitigation to avoid adverse those effects, decommissioning and rehabilitation plans for the project, and holding a public information meeting. The public session is being held tonight from 7-9 p.m. at the Baie Vista Inn.
The full guidelines are available online — www.mae.gov.nl.ca/env_assessment/projects/Y2017/1939/ — on the Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment website.
