080121-08MN006-Sabina Hackett River Project Proposal ... - NIRB

Environmental PlansThe following information will be considered for reclamation activities:• pre-mine land use and proposed land use objectives;• pre-mine land capability or productivity and proposed post-mine capability orproductivity objectives for all significant land uses. This information is required to createthe proposed reclamation program and is used to measure reclamation success;• pre-mine trace element concentrations in soils and vegetation;• characterization of the soils and overburden resource for reclamation purposes;• characterization of surficial and bedrock materials for geotechnical and geochemicalassessments;• plans for salvaging, stockpiling, and replacing soils and other suitable growth media; and• consideration of future erosion and mass wasting for long-term stability.Ideally soils will be salvaged from areas which will be disturbed due to the Project, but availablesoil is limited. The presence of boulders on the surface can interfere with salvaging of soils.Rock picking of boulders may be an option in order to salvage soil. Soils suited for reclamationthat can be salvaged will be stockpiled in an area where they will not be disturbed until requiredfor reclamation.Stockpiled soils are susceptible to water erosion, and wind erosion when dry. Therefore, thestockpiled soils will be seeded with a certified weed free native seed mix that has been found tobe successful in this climate and region (Martens, 2007):• alpine bluegrass (Poa alpina): 40%;• tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia ceaspitosa): 40%; and• spike trisetum (Trisetum spicatum): 20%.The seed mix will be Canada No. 1 grade to minimize the potential of introducing unwantedplants. The seed will be applied at a rate of between 8 to 10 kg/ha with fertilizer (16-16-16NPK) at approximately 50 kg/ha (Martens, 2007) on the stockpiles. A chemical analysis will becarried out to assess the appropriate fertilizer rate.Where the soils to be salvaged have a thick organic cover, it will be mixed with the underlyingsoils during the salvage operation as this material has a tendency to become desiccated andhydrophobic if stored separately. It is also subject to wind erosion when dry. The incorporationof this material with the subsoil should support the soil structure, be a source of nutrients, andimprove the moisture and nutrient holding capacities of less suitable soils.Effort will be made not to salvage the soils when they are excessively wet. They can be salvagedwhen they are frozen. Topsoil will be salvaged and stockpiled separately from the underlyingsoils, if possible. Topsoil is nutrient rich and therefore this material, when used as a cover,generally results in more successful revegetation. Salvage will also include the vegetationgrowing on the soils. The plant material can provide maintenance of the soil structure due to theJanuary 2008 Hackett River Project – Project Proposal Sabina Silver CorporationReport Version B.1 9–5 Rescan Environmental Services Ltd. (Proj. #833-2)