Whitehorse Daily Star

Diamond drilling should be approved: board

A proposal to carry out a diamond drilling exploration program in the Red Ridge area of Mount Lorne is being recommended to go ahead with some terms and conditions, citing significant adverse effects that can be mitigated.

By Palak Mangat on July 27, 2018

A proposal to carry out a diamond drilling exploration program in the Red Ridge area of Mount Lorne is being recommended to go ahead with some terms and conditions, citing significant adverse effects that can be mitigated.

That’s according to a recommendation handed down Thursday by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB).

It recommended that activities should take place between June 15 and Sept. 15 of each year, to best avoid disturbing breeding and calving caribou.

It was a concern shared by one resident, Andy Lera. He wrote, on behalf of Rising Sun Innovations, that the project may also have a negative effect on eagle, falcon and sheep populations, as helicopter traffic from the project could not be mitigated.

Southern Lakes caribou, which use the area south of Whitehorse, could also be impacted, he wrote.

The proposed area for the project runs through the Red Ridge and Mount Anderson properties, and sits between the Wheaton River and Alligator Lake.

It sits just northwest of Carcross, in the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Carcross/Tagish First Nation.

The YESAB decision recommends that the disturbance to caribou should be kept to a minimum by choosing an appropriate flight path, as well as provide updates to the two First Nations and the Carcross/Tagish Renewable Resource Council.

It reads, in part: “The proponent shall make every effort to discuss each season’s planned work with these groups and address any concerns regarding effects to caribou prior to activities being undertaken.”

To address the eagle concerns, the board recommended that should nesting eagles and falcons be seen, activity within one kilometre of active nest sites after Aug. 15 should be avoided.

It goes on to note that flying at a minimum of 800 metres above the ground would also help.

In another comment submitted to the board dated June 12, the Hamlet of Mount Lorne Local Advisory Council pointed out that a nearby exploration project in the Mount Anderson area had already been approved.

It says that “the combination of these two projects will have a cumulative negative impact on our community.”

The activities, which were proposed to take place between June and September anyway, would have occurred each year for a period of five years.

Apex Resources is the proponent listed on the project, which is represented by Aurora Geosciences’ project manager, Carl Schulze.

He told the Star in May that there would actually be no drilling this year – so really the site would see activity begin in 2019 for a total of four years.

Schulze was unable to be reached for comment in time for this afternoon’s publication.

The decision document said that each year, mapping, sampling, surveying and some trenching would be done between mid-June to mid-July. Activities like diamond drilling would take place later in the summer between early August to mid-September.

Another public comment to the board dated June 14 was from a hunter, who expressed concern that there was the possibility of trails being used by hikers and ATVs, especially during the hunting season (which will begin Aug. 1).

The board recommended not making any changes nor improvements to roads or trails that could result in increased access.

The document goes on to note that public consultation was held mid-March to mid-June of this year, with the board extending the period on April 5 at the request of the Mount Lorne Local Advisory Council.

As reported in the Star on May 30, an information meeting was held where Schulze met with Mount Lorne residents at the community centre in mid-May. Days later, YESAB extended the deadline for consultation on May 24 to June, citing a change in the project’s scope.

A YESAB representative confirmed to the Star in May that though extending the deadline for public comments would be helpful for residents of Mount Lorne, who requested more time, it was not the reason for the decision.

Instead, it was based on a change in the details of the project.

That detail involved the Department of Highways and Public Works writing that it would “not allow the landing of an aircraft on the Annie Lake Road right-of-way,” explained YESAB’s executive director, Tim Smith.

Thursday’s decision acknowledged that this original proposed staging area was rejected and recommended that the primary alternate area be a campsite near the Mount Anderson Property (which is also held by Apex, it noted), as it will be the “most direct and shortest access route” to the campsite.

Schulze mentioned that May’s information meeting was helpful to explain the project’s details to residents.

“The confusion was the level of exploration,” he said, acknowledging that some may not want to have any sort of exploration program near the community.

He said that long term, a larger mining development years down the road could be a possibility – but he shied away from any details, saying in May that the process was in its early stages.

“Let’s put it this way: it’s not impossible that a mine could exist there.”

Among others who provided comments were: Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Yukon Conservation Society, Yukon Hiking and 11 members of the public.

Four major concerns were: environmental quality, land users, heritage resources, and wildlife and wildlife habitat.

The Yukon government now has 30 days to issue a decision, in which it can either accept, reject, or vary the recommendations provided of the board.

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