The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Over 50 people were in attendance at Snow Lake's Elks Hall on the evening of March 17th.Ê They all came out to hear what Foran Mining had to say about their proposed North Star Mine.Ê The meeting was an important component of a very in-depth and all encompassing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that Foran is presently involved with in relation to the project.Ê Project Engineer, Steve Davies addressed the gathering on behalf of the company and he began by introducing company officials, geologists and consultants.ÊNo stranger to the community, Davies has previously lived and worked in Snow Lake and is presently constructing a cabin near the town. He was relaxed, articulate and sprinkled his presentation with a well-received and dry wit. Ê"I'm here to tell you who and what we are, and what we want to do in order to go ahead with our proposal," Davies noted. From there he gave an overview of the EIA process, while explaining Foran as a company and highlighting some of their recent focus. The proposed mine is situated 45 air miles to the west of Snow Lake and when or if environmental approval is given, the property will consist of a portal and decline shaft, a Gekko Mill housed within a large building purchased from the Namew Lake Mine (housed Namew's crusher), a shop, camp, waste and ore pads, and two tailings ponds. ÊThe mine has an eight-year life expectancy, and part of the EIA deals with decommissioning the mine at the end of the project.Ê Development work on a test mine, consisting of the portal, an exploration drift and other surface amenities took place over the last two years. A production decision was made after a large bulk sample; the test mine and further exploration drilling proved up enough ore to base an actual mine upon. "Currently, the test mine is under care and maintenance and we will commence further development immediately upon receipt of environmental approval," said Davies. He noted that the company would like to see as much local labour involved in the project as possible and that they could potentially see the mill start up in the third quarter of 2005. Davies proceeded to explain the geology of the deposit and illustrated the claim boundaries as well as the present and proposed areas of the mine site and tailings retention ponds. The claims first came to prominence in 1927 and there was a fair amount of trench work done in the area at that time. HBED held the claims in the early 80s and did some drilling in search of base metals. Foran acquired the property in 2002. They did some drilling and analyzed a bulk sample taken sometime earlier, before blasting a portal and driving a 110 ft. ramp for their test mine in 2004. A further bulk sample was taken, which had metallurgical analysis done on it in order to determine and proceed with a mill design. In relating the environmental impact of the project to the crowd, Davies noted that the waste rock from the mine is non-acid generating, and as such can be used in the construction of the mine and for roads around the site. He explained in detail how the tailings would be handled via two ponds (actually unnamed, pothole lakes) before water from them is released into North Star Lake. One of the small lakes (called Pond 1), which would be used as the settling pond, would be lost through the process; however, Davies noted that due to its size and depth, the lake has a diminutive amount of aquatic life. "No one is going to be exactly setting up a fishing lodge on any of these bodies of water," Davies quipped. Conversely, the second pond and North Star Lake will have no long term effects and will be put back to their natural state after the end of mine life. The foremost negative effect the project will place on North Star Lake (which although it is extremely shallow, does have a small pike and perch population) is that in a worst case scenario it could reduce the level of the lake by 50 mm each year. Davies added that it would, however, recharge itself each summer and they have determined that at the end of mine life, the lake will actually have more water in it than at present due to pumped infiltration and rain water from the mine. Davies further stated that the project would have minimal impact on wildlife and vegetation and that the socio-economic impact would be positive for employment and local procurement during mine life, while some hunters, a trapper, anglers, and a rice harvester will be affected negatively.Ê See 'Mine' P.# Con't from P.# The mine will employ 50 personnel (10 staff and 40 hourly) over its eight year life. These workers will likely be contractors, in order for Foran to take advantage of the fact that they wouldn't have to outfit the mine with equipment. There is the prospect of expansion built into their proposal, and Davies stated that they will undertake an aggressive exploration program in order to develop further deposits. Following a brief question and answer period, the meeting convened to an area at the side of the hall where attendees partook in the coffee and doughnuts that Davies jokingly referred to several times during the gathering.Ê The company is hoping for June approval of their EIA, with development work to begin immediately after that.
