Feasibility Study and Technical Report - Pretivm

and dated June 2013. As requested by Pretivm, Valard also studied a contingencytransmission line route from the NTL, which is currently under construction by Valard onbehalf of BC Hydro.18.7.1 TRANSMISSION LINE INTERCONNECTION AND ROUTEIn fall 2011, a study was conducted of the potential points of interconnection on the BCHydro grid and associated transmission routes to the Project site. As a result of thisstudy, the route from the substation for the Long Lake Hydro (LLH) Project to the Projectsite was selected as the preferred route (Figure 18.1). Starting at LLH, the transmissionline would follow the bedrock slopes on the east side of the Salmon Glacier to theterminus of the Knipple Glacier. From the Knipple Glacier, the preferred transmissionline follows the upper crest of the bedrock slope south of the glacier to the Project site.The route follows bedrock-dominated terrain that is characterized by gentle to moderateslopes, bedrock hummocks, and discrete debris flow/snow avalanche tracks (Figure18.7). As shown in the photo, the high elevation and prolonged snow cover have limitedboth tree growth and stand density throughout the area. Snow avalanche areas areclearly evident by exposed soil tracks and/or areas devoid of trees and characterized inSection 18.6. For the portion of the route from the Knipple Glacier to the Project site, afeasible route exists over the bedrock slopes to the south of the glacier to avoid both theengineering challenges due to glacier movement and the snow avalanches and snowcreep prevalent on the slopes to the north of the glacier.The conditions along the preferred route are substantially different than the NTLcontingency route. Specifically, the NTL contingency route would have a point ofinterconnection near Wildfire Camp and then follow along or near the Brucejack MineRoad to the foot of the Knipple Glacier. From this point, the NTL route would be the sameas the preferred route.Pretium Resources Inc. 18-23 1291990200-REP-R0012-02Feasibility Study and Technical Report on the BrucejackProject, Stewart, BC