An imposing new open-pit gold mine could see the light of day in Abitibi, with the exploitation of six pits and several thousand tons of raw ore every day. The Legault government has just launched the environmental assessment of the project, which would be done in an area where there are species at risk and wetlands. Voices are already being raised to criticize the establishment of an additional mine in a region which already has several.
The Ontario company O3 Mining, whose majority shareholder is Osisko Mining, hopes to extract at least 1.6 million ounces of gold over a period of 10 years by exploiting a deposit located northwest of Val-d’ Gold. According to the miner, “the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and market uncertainty make gold a safe haven for investors”, which has stimulated mining investments in the sector. since 2020.
The “Marban” project would be mined using the same method as the Canadian Malartic mine. Concretely, it involves blasting the rock directly from open pits, before extracting the raw ore, which is then transported by 150-tonne trucks to a plant that can process up to 16,500 tonnes of material. every day. The gold concentration is estimated at around one gram for each ton of stone.
O3 Mining plans to operate six pits, the largest of which would be 1.3 kilometers long and 850 meters wide, for a depth of 340 meters. Over a decade of operation, no less than 343 million tonnes of waste rock and tailings should be generated.
Species at Risk and Waterways
The project is subject to a provincial environmental assessment and a federal assessment, which involves the production of impact studies in the coming months. However, the description submitted by the mining company already shows that the operation of this mine in Abitibi-Témiscamingue could generate 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year (the equivalent of 24,000 cars), in addition to having impacts on species at risk, but also to require the destruction of wetlands and the diversion of a watercourse.
In the sector likely to be affected by the project, there are seven species of birds “at risk”, according to Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). Seven other bird species at risk may “potentially be present” in the area, due to the presence of “preferred habitats” identified in the analysis produced for the proponent by the firm WSP. In addition to the protection enjoyed by avian fauna under SARA, the regulations prohibit harming migratory birds during nesting.
Five species of bats, two of which are “endangered”, are also found in the area. The mining project, which has already been the subject of significant exploration work on the ground, is also located in the recognized “critical habitat” of the caribou of Val-d’Or, a population whose virtual disappearance and enclosure are directly linked to the destruction of its habitat.
The company also says it has to divert a watercourse, which it presents as the Keriens “stream”, in order to allow the exploitation of two pits. “Wetlands also occupy a large part of the proposed site,” says the documentation filed for the provincial assessment, which was officially launched on Wednesday by the Quebec government. The “directive” specifying what the impact study must contain is however dated December 20, the day after the end of the UN conference on biodiversity (COP15).
A “heavily affected” region
Spokesperson for MiningWatch Canada, Rodrigue Turgeon believes that this new project is difficult to justify. “In its current version, we do not support the development of the project, since it poses considerable risks for the environment, the climate, the endangered, threatened or vulnerable species and the local socio-economic environment”, he argues.
Mr. Turgeon, who is himself a resident of Val-d’Or, recalls that the immediate region is already full of gold mines in operation or about to be, including Canadian Malartic, Goldex, Kiena, Eldorado Gold and Akasaba West. He therefore hopes that the impact assessment can make it possible to “clearly answer the question of whether this is not an extra mine in a landscape already too heavily affected by the mining industry”.
At present, no less than 92% of the gold mined “is ultimately only used to make jewelry and ingots”, adds the organization Eau Secours, which adds its voice to the very critical comments of the project filed. at the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). “However, in the context of the current climate crisis, it is more important every day to choose and plan judiciously the projects put forward to prioritize those that will go in the direction of the energy transition and the societal choices that we is incumbent to do. »
The City of Val-d’Or also fears the environmental impacts of the future mine. In a document filed with the AEIC, it stresses that the Keriens stream “constitutes a natural environment of great importance” for various species of fish and that its diversion “will cause serious irreversible damage” to spawning grounds, but also to “the natural habitat of a good number of wildlife species” and at Lac De Montigny, which borders Val-d’Or and “whose state of health is already considerably degraded and worrying”.
“It has been brought to our attention that the overall profitability of the Marban project is closely dependent on the exploitation of the future pits located in the stream,” adds the City. “It seems unlikely to us to authorize mining projects whose feasibility depends solely on the destruction of high-value natural ecosystems, especially following COP15”, where municipalities have pledged to reduce threats to biodiversity.
In a written response to To have to, the company argues that “citizens and other stakeholders can submit comments on what the environmental impact statement should include”. This public consultation process at the provincial level ends on February 3. “We invite all parties concerned to submit their concerns so that the government authorities as well as Minière O3 can respond to them in the impact study. »
At the office of Environment Minister Benoit Charette, it is recalled that the Bureau of Public Hearings on the Environment will have to analyze the project. “So be assured that all the elements, including the presence of species with status, greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric emissions will be studied as part of the analyzes and taken into account in the final decision”, underlines the minister’s office in a written response.