061211-Environmental Screening Report-IMAE.pdf - nirb

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BAFFINLAND IRON MINES CORPORATIONMARY RIVER PROJECTBULK SAMPLING PROGRAMENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING DOCUMENT(REF. NO. NB102-00181/6-1)EXECUTIVE SUMMARYForewordKnight Piésold Ltd. (Knight Piésold), on behalf of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation (Baffinland), hasprepared this screening document to support permit applications and environmental screening of aproposed bulk sampling program at the Mary River Project. The Mary River Project (the Project) isan iron ore exploration project located at approximately Latitude 71º20’ north andLongitude 79º14’ west, in the North Baffin region of Nunavut.Baffinland is a Canadian mining company that is solely focused on its 100%-owned Mary RiverProject. Baffinland has been conducting mineral exploration on Federal Mineral Leases 2483, 2484and 2485 on a seasonal basis since 2004, consisting of delineation drilling of known high-grade ironore deposits (Deposit Nos. 1, 2, 3, 3A and 4) that were originally staked and explored in the 1960s.Current exploration facilities consist of an 80-person camp located near the Deposit No. 1 in thevicinity of the Mary River. Site access is by air, using two of the three airstrips constructed in the1960s, and by an existing road connecting the Mary River Project site to Milne Inlet. The road iscurrently used in the late winter period to move supplies brought to Milne Inlet by conventionalsealift into the site.Project DescriptionBaffinland is proposing to undertake a bulk sampling program in 2007-2008, involving the extractionof 250,000 tonnes of iron ore from two small open pits in Deposit No. 1, and shipping the iron orebulk sample off site to steel mills in Europe for testing. The bulk sampling program will allowBaffinland to conduct metallurgical testing as well as crusher tests to determine the proportion ofiron ore that becomes lump (approximately cobble sized) compared with fines (sand sized). Theproportion of lump to fines is a major parameter for iron ore projects because one product demandsa higher price than the other. The bulk sampling program is also important in that it will allowBaffinland to provide potential customers with adequate ore to test in their steel mills, an importantstep in establishing marketing contracts that will support project financing.Mining of the bulk sample will involve drilling, blasting and removing weathered rock at the two pitlocations to a storage location adjacent to the two small ore pits. Ore will be extracted by blastingwith pre-packaged explosives and will be excavated from the pits and crushed. The crushed ore willthen be transported by truck over the existing tote road to Milne Inlet where it will be stockpiled. Orewill be loaded on barges and then transferred to ore-carrying ships in Milne Inlet. The ships will thendeliver the cargo to ports in Europe.Page i of xviNB102-00181/6-1Revision 0November 20, 2006
This bulk sampling program will involve the following work:• The delivery of contractor mining and crushing equipment, camp materials and fuel in 2 shipvoyages to Milne Inlet in August 2007, in accordance with standard northeast arctic sealiftprocedures, using standard sealift ships based in the vicinity of Montreal• Upgrade of the existing Milne Inlet tote road to allow all-weather use, including the quarryingand placement of fill on the road bed and the replacement/installation of a large number ofculverts at watercourses• Construction of a 100-person all-weather tent camp at Mary River, next to the existing seasonalexploration camp• Establishment of temporary trailer camps at Milne Inlet and part-way along the Milne Inlet toteroad• Establishment of temporary fuel storage facilities at Milne Inlet, the roadside (Midway) campand at Mary River• The drilling, blasting and storing of 169,300 dry tonnes (t) of weathered surface rock on the topof Deposit No. 1 at Mary River over one or two months in late 2007 or early 2008• The drilling, blasting, and crushing of 250,000 t of iron ore bulk sample from Deposit No. 1 atMary River over three-to-five months, in early 2008• Hauling the 250,000 t bulk sample from Mary River to Milne Inlet, over the course of the firsthalf of 2008.• Temporary stockpiling of the iron ore sample at Milne Inlet• Loading of iron ore at Milne Inlet on 3 ships that will make a total of five voyages inAugust-September 2008 (two ships each make two voyages, one ship makes one voyage)The main milestone dates of the bulk sampling program are as follows:• November 2006 - Submit Environmental Screening Document and Permit Applications• March 2007 - Screening completed and permits issued• March 2007- Begin road and airstrip upgrades• August 2007 - Mobilize camp and equipment for bulk sample• November 2007 - Camp and infrastructure constructed, bulk sampling begins• May 2008 - Bulk sampling program completed• January 2008 - Start haulage of ore to Milne Inlet• August/September 2008 - Ore loaded onto ships and delivered to marketTraining opportunities for existing and potential Baffinland employees, especially those who residein communities near Mary River, is an important aspect of the proposed program. Training will takethe form of community-based classroom activities, on-site practical training, and job-shadowing.This training will develop skills necessary for new employees to participate in construction andoperational activities, should the Mary River Project advance to these stages in the future.Page ii of xviNB102-00181/6-1Revision 0November 20, 2006
Page 4 and 5: Regulatory ContextThe Mary River Pr
Page 6 and 7: the waters of Milne Inlet and Eclip
Page 8 and 9: Monitoring and Follow-up ProgramsTh
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Page 18 and 19: 2.14.3 Investigation Findings .....
Page 20 and 21: 5.3.2 Land and Resource Use .......
Page 22 and 23: SECTION 7.0 - CUMULATIVE EFFECTS...
Page 24 and 25: Figure 2.6 Rev. 0 2005 Sealift at M
Page 26 and 27: BAFFINLAND IRON MINES CORPORATIONMA
Page 28 and 29: (Wildlife Act), and the Federal Dep
Page 30 and 31: SECTION 2.0 - PROJECT DESCRIPTION2.
Page 32 and 33: • Carry out metallurgical testing
Page 34 and 35: program objectives with the minimum
Page 36 and 37: several days. A camp of some form i
Page 38 and 39: 2.5.9 Project Component 8 - Ship Si
Page 40 and 41: Ore will be extracted by blasting w
Page 42 and 43: 2.12 AIRCRAFT ACCESS AND TRAFFICThe
Page 44 and 45: 2.14 ALL-WEATHER ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Page 46 and 47: approximate catchment area. The loc
Page 48 and 49: document the quality of the complet
Page 50 and 51: 2.14.6 Assessment of Potential Navi
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e required to move the bulk sample
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an average excavation depth of 1.5
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2.16.1 Mary River CampThe existing
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and provide a base to respond to an
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Design considerations and proposed
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using a thermally designed thicknes
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SECTION 3.0 - TRAINING AND EMPLOYME
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SECTION 4.0 - PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT/ T
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There are currently no established
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5.1.4 Regional Bedrock GeologyThe N
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measured depths of permafrost of 50
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The extremely cold temperatures of
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established by the Canadian Council
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at Deposit Nos. 1 and 2. The most o
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low to very low in all of the water
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Plot data from 2005 is available on
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emergent semaphore grass (Pleuropog
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Two study areas were delineated, a
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such as polar bears, and in the cas
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FALCONIFORMES (Falcons and Hawks)
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Peregrine Falcons (subspecies tundr
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and fall migration periods. Because
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information on Baffin Island includ
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structure also changes. Benthic mac
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5.2.4.5 Fisheries - Overview of Roa
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The gradient and mesohabitat of BG-
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throughout the summer as evidenced
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5.2.5.2 Lower Trophic LevelsInforma
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distribution and abundance during A
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lower portion of Milne Inlet and wi
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The Eastern High Arctic/Baffin Bay
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Summary and ConclusionsA total of 2
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the reported harvest locations in A
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trips to shore to visit communities
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household income in 2003, after dec
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Between 1996 and 2001, the populati
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SECTION 6.0 - IDENTIFICATION OF IMP
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6.1.2.2 Proposed MitigationAll mini
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Camp lake has a surface area of app
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As the location(s) of arctic char s
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• Release of runoff from road fil
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The potential for fuel spills near
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high arctic region, compared lower
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orrow areas identified and surveyed
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mitigation are limited, and impacts
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in response to noise and disturbanc
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The Milne Inlet tote road transits
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mitigation will rehabilitate the ex
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Potential Impacts - Large Crossings
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The type of fish habitat compensati
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6.3.1 Noise6.3.1.1 Potential Impact
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ehavioural responses to a repeated
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Milne Inlet in the Absence of Shipp
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Perhaps the greatest concern associ
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The barges will operate only during
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within the shipping route is not de
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From this information, any spill th
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of Milne Inlet and Koluktoo Bay. Un
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6.3.6 Wildlife Protected Areas6.3.6
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and equipment. Possible ground nest
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areas are of sufficient size compar
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Records of land use and any disrupt
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6.5 POTENTIAL FOR TRANSBOUNDARY IMP
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SECTION 8.0 - MONITORING PLAN8.1 MO
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Summer surveys are not effective be
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esultant lack of reliability of the
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human resource strategies for a fut
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13. ---. Department of Indian Affai
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38. Crawford, R.E. and J.K. Jorgens
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64. Lepage, D., D.N. Nettleship and
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90. Read, C.J. “An Assessment of
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TABLE 2.1BAFFINLAND IRON MINES CORP
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Site NumberNorthing(m)Easting(m)Sta
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TABLE 2.10BAFFINLAND IRON MINES COR
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SpeciesTABLE 5.13BAFFINLAND IRON MI
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ParameterUnitTABLE 6.2BAFFINLAND IR
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LocationCodeRoadChainage(km)Catchme
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