The Government of Quebec has decided: Quebec Iron Ore will be able to destroy lakes, wetlands and other waterways to store hundreds of millions of tons of mine tailings in them over the next few years. The environmental assessment of this project, which is associated with the expansion of the Bloom Lake iron mine, concluded that it should not be approved.
The information, first published in The Press Monday morning, was confirmed at Homework by a source familiar with the matter. Despite a very critical report from the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), the Legault government has decided to authorize the tailings expansion project of Quebec Iron Ore, a subsidiary of the Australian mining company Champion Iron. who bought the Bloom Lake iron mine with the help of Investissement Québec in 2016.
Since the publication of the BAPE report in March 2021, modifications have been made to the storage project, which nevertheless remained similar to what had been submitted to the environmental assessment process in Quebec. The Quebec government should also demand financial compensation for the destruction of natural environments. The Press Monday mentioned an estimated amount of 20 million dollars.
Filled lakes
The company hopes to continue mining the deposit located near Fermont until 2040, at the rate of 15 million tonnes per year. The raw ore will be exported by boat from Sept-Îles. For the life of the mine, the company estimates its “storage needs” of tailings and waste rock at 1.3 billion tonnes, of which 872 million will have to be stored in new sites located near the pit. of the mine.
However, the mining company stresses that “the available land space” is insufficient. “The various options studied within the framework of the terrestrial variant would not be economically viable within the framework of the project”, according to what can be read in its impact study of nearly 5,000 pages.
Unlike some mining projects, Quebec Iron Ore rejects the idea of gradually filling the pit with tailings. The storage of tailings or waste rock in the pit is “contraindicated in the circumstances so as not to jeopardize the exploitation of a resource potentially exploitable in the future”, specifies the impact study.
critical report
In a very critical report, the BAPE concluded last year that the mining company “should review its project”, since it “has not demonstrated that the solutions adopted for the management of mining waste are those that minimize the impacts on wetlands and bodies of water”. The report thus underlines that the storage of the 872 million tonnes of residues would notably destroy 151 hectares of lakes and waterways, including an 88-hectare lake.
According to the BAPE, which gathered the opinions of independent experts, “the company has imposed criteria that are sometimes too strict, such as the distance from the mining site and the presence of ore under the pit, to eliminate alternative solutions for the disposal of its tailings and waste rock”.
Among the options discarded “without adequate justification”, the report mentions the backfilling of the pit, as has been done for several years for mining projects in Quebec.
Contrary to the mine, the BAPE therefore considers that “Quebec Iron Ore could find a solution to increase the storage capacity of its mine tailings and waste rock that would minimize its environmental footprint”. The organization is of the opinion that “the work schedule would give the proponent enough time to carry out the additional studies necessary to review the alternative solutions”.
Decision denounced
In a statement released on Monday, environmental organizations denounced the government’s decision, which is expected to be officially announced shortly. They urged Quebec not to go ahead, while adopting a new regulation that would “clearly prohibit” the filling of watercourses to store mine tailings.
“This decision would go completely against the advice of even many independent experts who proposed alternatives to avoid the destruction of lakes. Once again, Quebec must not bulldoze science and the environment for the benefit of private interests,” denounced the director general of Eau Secours, Rébecca Pétrin.
“Such a decision would completely discredit the public relations campaign that Quebec and the industry have been deploying for weeks with millions in advertising to green the image of the industry,” said Ugo Lapointe, of the organization Quebec better mine.
The Quebec government does not prohibit the destruction of lakes, watercourses and wetlands to store mining waste. In 2018, he also authorized the ArcelorMittal mining company to increase the area of its tailings site, also in the Fermont region. It is a question of storing 825 million tonnes of residues there by 2045, for a total of 1318 million tonnes between 2014 and 2045.
In its report on the project, the BAPE specifies that this project will result in “the destruction of 11 lakes, 15 ponds and 25 streams”. The mine has therefore planned a “restoration” program to compensate for the loss of natural environments.