NUNAVUT WATER BOARD

  

   Renewal and Amendment Application for Type "A" Water
      Licence No: 2AM-LUP1520 for the Lupin Gold Mine

  
  
  ___________________________________________________
                    COMMUNITY SESSION
                         VOLUME 2
  ___________________________________________________

  

  
                    Kugluktuk, Nunavut
                     January 15, 2020
                     TABLE OF CONTENTS
  
  Description                                       Page
  
  January 15, 2020         Community Session        170
  Opening Remarks                                   173
  Presentation by Nunavut Water Board Staff         178
  Presentation by Lupin Mines Incorporated          191
  Questions to Lupin Mines Incorporated by the      208
  Community of Kugluktuk
  Discussion                                        211
  Presentation by Crown-Indigenous Relations and    212
  Northern Affairs Canada
  EVA WALKER, ANNE WILSON, Sworn                    221
  Presentation by Environment and Climate Change    222
  Canada
  Closing Remarks                                   224
  Certificate of Transcript                         226

  

  

                         EXHIBITS
  Description                                       Page
  
  EXHIBIT 20 - Hard Copy, PowerPoint Presentation,  211
  Mandalay Resources Corporation (Community Session)
  (English)
  
  EXHIBIT 21 - Hard Copy, PowerPoint Presentation,  221
  Lupin Mine Presentation to the Nunavut Water Board
  by Environment and Climate Change Canada Community
  Session) (English/Inuinnaqtun)

  

  

  

  

  
  Proceedings taken at Kugluktuk Recreation Complex,
  Kugluktuk, Nunavut
  _______________________________________________________
  January 15, 2020         Community Session
  
  NUNAVUT WATER BOARD
  L. Toomasie              The Chair
  A. Hanson Main           Vice-Chair
  A. Ningark               Panel Member
  
  NUNAVUT WATER BOARD STAFF
  T. Meadows               Legal Counsel
  S. Autut                 Executive Director
  K. Kharatyan             Director of Technical Services
  B. Kogvik                Director of Board
                           Administration and
                           Communications
  R. Dwyer                 Manager of Licencing
  D. Donald                Technical Advisor

  

  
  
  APPLICANT
  
  LUPIN MINES INCORPORATED
  K. Lewis                 Project Manager
  B. Labatte               Chief Development Officer,
                           Mandalay Resources
  C. Kowbel                Legal Counsel, Lawson Lundell
  D. Hohnstein             Consultant, Lupin Mines
                           Incorporated
  K. Bocking               Principal, Golder Associates
  S. Wilkins               Project Manager, Water
                           Resources, Stantec Consulting
  A. Tong                  Senior Geotechnical Engineer,
                           Stantec Consulting
  J. McKinley              Senior Hydrogeologist, Stantec
                           Consulting
  K. Ruptash               VP Projects, Nahanni
                           Construction

  

  

  INTERVENORS
  
  CROWN-INDIGENOUS RELATIONS AND NORTHERN AFFAIRS CANADA
  G. Okonkwo               Manager of Water Resources
  N. Noah                  Land Administrator Major
                           Projects
  G. Wiatzka               VP Director of Mining, Arcadis
  S. Dewar                 Director Resource Management
                           (Via Teleconference)
  D. Kohlenberg            Department of Justice
                           (Via Teleconference)
  
  ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE CANADA
  E. Walker                Senior Environmental
                           Coordinator
  A. Wilson                Lead - Water Quality Expert
                           Support
  
  INTERPRETERS/TRANSLATORS
  B. Kogvik                Inuinnaqtun Language
                           Translator
  
  J. Otokiak               Inuinnaqtun Language
                           Translator
  
  J. Albert, CSR(A)        Official Court Reporter
  N. Poitras               Sound Technician
  _______________________________________________________
  (PROCEEDINGS COMMENCED AT 7:03 PM)
  Opening Remarks
  THE CHAIR:               Welcome, everyone.  Before we
  start, I think we need a control for the kids,
  controlling the kids here tonight.  I need somewhat
  behaved to have the -- allow them to keep quiet.
       Okay.  Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the
  Community Session of Nunavut Water Board public hearing
  for the application file filed by Lupin Mines
  Incorporated -- I will refer to them as "LMI" for
  short -- to renew and amend the existing Type "A" Water
  Licence Number 2AM-LUP1520.  My name is Lootie
  Toomasie, and I am the chair of the Nunavut Water Board
  and the hearing chair for this public hearing.
       This public hearing is being conducted by the
  Nunavut Water Board to consider an application by LMI
  asking the Nunavut Water Board to issue a renewed and
  amended water licence for the terms of 7 years, updated
  subsequently to 12 years to authorize activities
  associated with the final closure and reclamation of
  the Lupin Mine Project, which sits approximately 285
  kilometres south of Kugluktuk on Contwoyto Lake.  The
  mine has not been operated since 2005 and has been
  sitting in care and maintenance for the last 15 years.
       The application requests the use of 250,000 cubic
  metres of water per year during the first two years of
  active reclamation, followed by the use of 5,000 cubic
  metres per year during post-closure activities as well
  as permanent deposit of waste.
       Before we proceed with tonight's session, please
  let us begin with a prayer.  Let's stand for prayer.
  Opening Prayer
  THE CHAIR:               Thank you once again.
       For those of you who were not here this morning
  when we started the public hearing, I have a few brief
  housekeeping and introductory remarks, and then I will
  turn the microphone over to the executive director and
  Staff of the Nunavut Water Board, the Applicant, and
  Intervenors.
       Before I do, please note that there's
  interpretation available throughout the hearing, and
  the earpieces are available from the table located as
  you came in.  Channel 1 is for the floor, and Channel 2
  for English, and Channel 3, Inuinnaqtun.
       I also want to remind everyone to sign in on the
  sign-in sheet located at the table just before you came
  in.  To ensure we have accurate and complete record of
  those who have participated in this part of the
  public -- a part of our public hearing, we ask everyone
  to sign in.  As the sign-in sheets will be attached to
  the Board's record of proceedings and decision report
  for this file, please fill in the sheet legibly and
  accurately.
       And there will be coffee, tea, and snacks located
  at the table along the side, along the side table
  that's at the back there.  Please help yourself to the
  refreshments.  There are agendas for the hearing and
  the Community Session available at the table as you
  came in.  Please pick one up and follow along.
       Before we proceed to the presentation on the
  agenda, I would like to introduce the Board members and
  Staff who are joining us here today.
       I will be chairing this panel, and with me today,
  as members of the decision-making panel responsible for
  this file, are Board members Amanda Hanson Main on my
  right, and to my left is Alex Ningark.
       Several Staff members who have contributed to the
  NWB's administration and technical review of this
  amendment application are present, along with legal
  counsel to the NWB.  I will introduce the individuals
  attending today.  When I say your name, please wave so
  that people will know who you are.  I'll make sure I
  pronounce -- say your name properly this time.
       Stephanie Autut, executive director; Karén
  Kharatyan -- I have a hard time pronouncing that last
  name all the time.  I never get used to it -- director
  of technical services; Ben Kogvik, director of Board
  administration and communication at the back in the
  interpreting booth over there; Derek Donald, technical
  advisor; Richard Dwyer, manager of licencing at the
  back by the entrance; and Teresa Meadows from Meadows
  Legal -- Law, legal counsel to the Board, sorry.
       In addition, we have two interpreters available
  for simultaneous translation:  Ben Kogvik, in-house
  interpreter to the Board, Joe Otokiak, who is
  originally from Cambridge Bay, now living in
  Yellowknife at the back there.
       For audio support, we have with us Norbert Poitras
  from PIDO.  If you experience any difficulties with
  your headsets, Norbert will be able to assist you.
       To ensure an accurate record of the proceeding is
  kept, we have with us a court reporter, Julie Albert,
  from Dicta Court Reporting Inc.  She's at the back and
  wearing red.  To assist Julie, I ask that all parties
  please state their name prior to speaking.
       With that, I will now turn the microphone over to
  Stephanie Autut, executive director, to give you an
  overview of tonight's session.
       Stephanie.
  MS. AUTUT:               Thank you, Mr. Chair.
       The Board will start tonight's session with a
  presentation by the Nunavut Water Board's technical
  staff, which will be followed by a presentation by the
  Applicant, Lupin Mines Incorporated.  Following that,
  we will have presentations by two agencies,
  Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs,
  "CIRNAC", and Environment and Climate Change Canada,
  "ECCC".
       After each presentation, we will invite anyone who
  wishes to ask questions or provide the panel with their
  comments to step up to the microphone and speak on the
  record.  If you are an Elder, you can speak at any time
  throughout these proceedings.  We just ask that you
  raise your hand to be recognized by the chairperson and
  wait to speak until one of our staff members can get a
  microphone for you so that we can ensure your comments
  are included on the record.
       For everyone here tonight, I encourage you all to
  ask questions or share your comments with the Board by
  stepping up to the microphone.  You can direct your
  questions to the Staff of the Nunavut Water Board, the
  Applicant, Lupin Mines Incorporated, and the
  Intervenors, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
  Affairs and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
       As Mr. Chair said at the start of the public
  hearing this morning, it is very important to the Board
  that we have an accurate record of the information,
  questions, and comments that we hear during this public
  hearing, so we ask that to assist our interpreters and
  the court reporter, please wait until you have a
  microphone before you speak, then state your name, and
  speak directly, clearly, and slowly into the
  microphone.  Please be mindful of the interpreters as
  you go, and avoid the use of abbreviations, if you can.
       We appreciate your participation and assistance in
  making sure we are all heard and understood in this
  hearing and that this hearing is conducted in a
  productive and respectful manner.
       I will now turn the microphone over to the Board's
  technical staff to walk you through how this amendment
  and renewal application has progressed to this point.
       So, Derek, if you would please give an overview of
  your presentation.
  Presentation by Nunavut Water Board Staff
  MR. DONALD:              Thank you very much,
  Stephanie.  My name is Derek Donald with the Nunavut
  Water Board, and so I'll just provide you a brief
  presentation, as Stephanie had mentioned, that focuses
  mostly on the Water Board, sort of, procedures that
  mining companies and other Proponents, sort of, have to
  go through when applying for a water licence.
       So this presentation here is for the Type "A"
  Water Licence 2AM-LUP1520, so that's for the Lupin Mine
  Project.  So just to briefly go over what this
  presentation will look like, first I'll give you a bit
  of background info, and then I'll describe, sort of,
  the different types of authorizations that the Water
  Board can issue to different Proponents, go through the
  licencing process, the different types of licences that
  can be issued, and then I'll talk a little bit about
  the project itself, but very briefly.  I'll leave most
  of the details about the project itself to LMI, or
  Lupin Mines Incorporated.  And I might throw in some
  acronyms there, like, for the Nunavut Water Board,
  "NWB"; Lupin Mines Incorporated would be "LMI";
  Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
  would be "CIRNAC"; and Environment and Climate Change
  Canada would be "ECCC".  So I'll just give you a
  heads-up because it's a lot of acronyms to keep track
  of.
       I'll tell you what.  I'll just come stand at the
  front of the room.  Why not.  It will be awkward for
  me, but will that work?  That's all right.  I've got a
  pretty loud voice.
  MS. MEADOWS:             No.
  MR. DONALD:              No?  Okay.
  MS. MEADOWS:             Because the interpreters --
  MR. DONALD:              Oh, of course.
  MS. MEADOWS:             -- can't hear you.
  THE CHAIR:               Is there a microphone at the
  back?
  MR. KHARATYAN:           Oh, it's working.
  MR. DONALD:              It's working now?  Okay.
  MR. POITRAS:             Do you want a mic?
  MR. DONALD:              Oh, it's working now.
  Apologies.  Okay.  So moving on.
       So Nunavut Water Board is an institute of public
  government established under Article 13 of the Nunavut
  Agreement, and we -- it holds responsibilities and
  powers over the regulation, use, and management of
  freshwater in the Nunavut Settlement Area.
       Sorry, just a little bit of technical
  difficulties.  I'm thinking the battery must have just
  died on us.  Okay.  Yeah, thank you.
       So the objectives of the Nunavut Water Board are
  to provide for the conservation and utilization of
  waters in Nunavut, except in national parks, in a
  manner that provides optimum benefit for the residents
  of Nunavut, in particular, and then Canadians in
  general as well.  Next.
       So based on the Water Board's mandate, we may
  issue any of the following authorizations to regulate
  the use of water and/or deposit of waste for activities
  occurring within the Nunavut Settlement Area, so these
  are the type of licences or permits we issue to people
  or groups looking to conduct a project in Nunavut.
       So the very first one, an approval without a
  licence, this is for the smallest projects, usually
  just a few people for a single year and the use of less
  than 50 cubic metres of water.  The next is a Type "B"
  Water Licence, so these are for medium-sized projects,
  so this would be a lot of your exploration mining,
  mining projects, and those would fall between 50 and
  300 cubic metres of water use; and then, finally, the
  Type "A" Water Licence, so that's the one we're
  discussing right now, these are for real -- quite large
  major projects.
       So Lupin Mines Incorporated was an operational
  mine, obviously a big project, and they've had a Type
  "A" Water Licence for quite a few years now, as we'll
  see.  Next slide.
       So just a little bit about the process that we
  actually take Proponents through when applying for a
  project.  Initially, we receive our application, right
  up here.  Followed by the application we get from a
  Proponent, we send it out for initial, sort of,
  preliminary review and check just to make sure that it
  has enough information there that it can be evaluated
  properly.  So we'd send that out to the different
  intervening parties such as CIRNA and Environment
  Canada.
       Then following that, if there's any additional
  information requested, the Proponent would provide it,
  and then we provide the notice of application and the
  starting of the 30-day technical review period, and so
  that's this stage right here, and this is really the
  major review of the project, so the major looking at
  all the technical specifics.
       Oh, actually go back, Karén.  Sorry.  I'm going a
  bit slow.
       And then here, the parties submit their written
  interventions or their written representations, so they
  just make their technical comments, and then we hold
  the technical meeting.
       So we had the technical meeting for this back in
  the beginning of June this year here in -- here in
  Kugluktuk.  Next.
       Following the technical meeting, we hold a
  pre-hearing conference, and so that's typically the day
  after to just, kind of, discuss the procedural matters.
  Following that, we -- sorry, we provide -- we send out
  this pre-hearing conference decision report, and, sort
  of, that summaries -- summarizes all the information,
  or, I guess all -- yeah, all the information up to --
  up to that point of the technical meeting and then
  provides the Proponent -- the Proponent with, sort of,
  any comments or commitments that they may have brought
  up through the technical review.  And then in that, we
  also provide this notice of public hearing with a
  minimum of 60 days, 60 days' notice, so we actually
  provided quite a bit more because we provided that back
  in June.  Next slide.
       Then following that, we hold the public hearing,
  so that's where we're at, at this stage.  Sort of up to
  now, the Proponents often provide us with some more of
  their technical information, as well, so we've really
  gotten down to the finer details of the project.
       So then following our public hearing, it can, kind
  of, go two ways.  The NWB issues a decision to approve
  the application, or we'd issue a decision not to
  approve the application, so that's the first step; and
  then the second one in red here, that's where the
  Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, they make a
  decision whether or not to agree with us or to,
  essentially, disagree with us, not approve our
  decision.  And so, again, that, I guess, would be the
  end, at which point they would either receive their
  water licence, or they wouldn't, and further
  discussions would be had.
       So for the Lupin Mines Project itself, this is --
  this is, sort of, a photograph of it.  A little bit
  dated at this point.  So the project location -- oh,
  next slide -- is here, about 285 kilometres southeast
  of Kugluktuk, so that's where we are up here.  Here's
  the project, the Lupin Mine, and then Yellowknife is
  down right here, just for reference.  Next slide.
       And so as I'd mentioned, this project has quite a
  bit of history.  Commercial gold mining started in
  1982.  Then they were in production for almost 20
  years.  They went into care and maintenance a little
  bit, back in production, but since 2005, they've been
  in care and maintenance ever since.  Next slide.
       So, again, going all the way back, the Water Board
  has issued a number of three different water licences
  to this project, so I guess beginning in 2000, the
  first water licence here went from 2000 to 2008, the
  second one then went from 2009 to 2014, and then the
  one that they are currently permitted under is from
  2015 to 2020, so this is the year which the licence
  expires, and so I'll just go over those a little bit --
  the next slide in a little bit more detail.
       So this first one issued back in 2000 was issued
  to Kinross Gold Corporation.  It allowed for 1.7
  million cubic metres per year of water use and deposit
  of waste for a mining undertaking.  It was then amended
  in 2001, so a change in financial security.  Then in
  20 -- in 2007, it was assigned from Kinross Gold
  Corporation to LMI, Lupin Mines Incorporated, and then
  in 2008, finally, it was amended again just to extend
  the term of the licence.  Next slide.
       So then the next licence was issued in 20 -- in
  2009 to Lupin Mines, allowed again for 1.7 million
  cubic metres of water per year for a mining
  undertaking.  In 2009, then, so pretty quickly, an
  amendment was issued related to the monitoring, and
  then in 2014, an emergency amendment allowing for the
  discharge of some effluent to -- from specific
  facilities that met licence requirements.  Next slide.
       So now this is the current licence that they are
  licenced under, issued in 2015.  Now, this allowed for
  the use of -- this is -- I'll mention, too, this is the
  start of their care-and-maintenance phase, so this is
  where they really, kind of, went into care and
  maintenance.  At the time, they had some intentions of
  potentially starting up production again, which they
  obviously never ended up doing, so this licence was a
  little bit different, but it allowed for 5,000 cubic
  metres of water use per year during care and
  maintenance, and then if they got up and running again,
  it would allow for 500,000 cubic metres per year, sort
  of, during that transition to a production mine again,
  and then this licence was amended three times over the
  last, I guess, couple years all related to security.
  Okay, slide.
       So the scope of the application, so this is what
  they're really applying for right now.  This is what
  we're discussing.  Again, I'll be quite brief, and I'll
  let Lupin Mines go over the details of their project,
  but they're applying for a 12-year renewal of the
  licence.  Originally, we had discussed, kind of, more
  of a six-year, but following the technical meeting,
  we'd agreed that 12 years is more appropriate; and then
  water use of 685 cubic metres per day, 100 for camp,
  585 for industrial uses; and then once remediation is
  complete, a reduction back down to that 5,000 cubic
  metres per year, sort of, during the monitoring.
       So they'll also have waste disposal on site.
  Obviously with the final closure of a mine, some of
  that waste is, kind of, going to be left on site, but
  managed properly before they leave it.  So they do have
  some petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils, some
  hazardous materials including asbestos.  They have a
  fair bit of waste rock on site that is potentially
  acid-generating, some demolition waste, so such as the
  buildings, and some wastewater disposal; and then right
  now, what we've been talking about is about 2.5 years
  to complete the closure and reclamation activities, and
  then right now, ten, ten years of post-closure
  monitoring, so following their reclamation.  Right now,
  we have it at ten -- ten years they'll be monitoring
  the site, and that would bring to the end of the term
  of the 12-year renewal, if issued, and so at which
  point, you know, there would be lots of time to discuss
  if more monitoring is needed, or if not, in fact,
  everything is performing as it has -- as was planned.
  Okay.  Next slide.  Yeah, thank you.
       So here, I'll just bring out -- break out a little
  bit more of the procedural history and the details
  within that, so just so you get a sense of, sort of,
  the -- all the steps of the process that we've been
  through.
       So it was July 27th in 2018 that LMI initially
  provided us with their application, be it an incomplete
  application, and then in 2019, the beginning of 2019 is
  when they supplied us with their final documents, such
  as their translated summaries.
       Following that, we distributed the application for
  the completeness check, as I had described earlier.
  Then on March 4th of this year, we received comments on
  the completeness check and initial technical review
  from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
  Canada.
       On March 19th, we received LMI's response to those
  comments, and then on March 29th is when we issued the
  notice of the application and invited all parties for
  that really substantial 30-day technical review.  So
  the Nunavut Water Board has received technical comments
  both from CIRNA and from Environment Canada, so both of
  those intervening parties.
       Then on May 17th is when we received LMI's
  response to Intervenors' comments, and on June 6th and
  7th is when we held the technical meeting in person
  here in Kugluktuk.  Next slide.
       On June 18th is when we issued the pre-hearing
  conference decision report, and this outlined a number
  of commitments made by LMI with respect to more
  information they'd, essentially, provide us before we
  held this public hearing here.
       And then so on November 15th, so a month and a
  half before Christmas there, sort of thing, is when LMI
  had provided all this information and the vast majority
  of the commitments they had, sort of, fulfilled.
       Then in December, on the 13th, we received our
  final written submissions from Environment Canada and
  Climate Change -- Environment and Climate Change
  Canada, and on December 6th and December 18th, we
  received two separate written submissions from
  Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada,
  at which point they did state that they were still
  under discussion about the current security that LMI
  hold -- or that CIRNAC holds of LMI's and then also
  how, exactly, they're going to be returning that
  security to them so that they have money to clean up
  the site.
       Then on January 3rd of this year, 2020, we
  received the Applicant's response, and on January 27th,
  we held a brief conference call, again, just to, sort
  of, discuss aspects of a security to make sure that we
  came into this public hearing, and everybody, kind of,
  knew we were all on the same page, you know.  Next
  slide.
       Then on January 10th -- it says "January 20th",
  but that's supposed to be "January 10th" -- we received
  copies of the public hearing presentations from all
  parties; and then on January 13th, the NWB distributed
  the final agenda for the public hearing; and then that
  brings us to today and tomorrow, in which the Nunavut
  Water Board will -- we hosted the public hearing this
  morning, and then we're having the Community Session
  right now, obviously, and then again tomorrow morning,
  we'll finish off with the public hearing.
       So all submissions are available on the Nunavut
  Water Board's FTP site, so that means that all of the
  information that we have gathered, you know , all the
  environmental information at the Lupin mine site we do
  have on the internet, we do have on our Public
  Registry, on our public FTP site, so it is accessible
  to the public, which means any one of you could go on
  there and look, look through all that information.
  It's quite a bit, but some of it's -- some of it's
  worthwhile.
       So throughout this application process, as I'd
  mentioned, we did receive participation from CIRNAC and
  Environment Canada, and they helped us, sort of, move
  the application to this stage of the process.  We also
  recognize and appreciate participation of these
  intervening parties and appreciate, sort of, all the --
  all the help they've provided.  Next slide.
       So this Community Session right now, the public
  hearing, this is for the Water Board, for us to really
  obtain feedback from the community here, so it's
  very -- it's very nice to see quite a large crowd that
  showed up here, and we encourage everyone here to ask
  any questions that you might have because this is,
  really, where we -- where we are looking to hear, you
  know, how the public, how the community feels about the
  project, and if you would like to provide any questions
  in writing, as well, Richard's -- Richard Dwyer's email
  is up here, and you can also speak to him at the back,
  and you can send him, sort of, a written email so that
  if you'd prefer to put a statement in writing, rather
  than speaking at the microphone, that option is
  available to you.
       Next slide -- actually, we can skip these couple
  of slides because they were, sort of, just duplicated,
  and then lastly here, I've just got a list of emails
  for all the Water Board Staff that's sort of been
  involved in this process so far.
       Lastly, I'd just like to thank you all, too, for
  coming, and I guess if you have any questions or
  comments, we'd love to hear them.
  MS. AUTUT:               Okay.  Thanks, Derek.
       So as we've seen, Derek's walked through what the
  Water Board's process is here in this meeting.  Are
  there any questions from the public related to the
  Water Board process that we'd like to ask Derek?
       Okay.  Seeing no hands right now, we'll move on to
  the presentation from the Applicant, Lupin Mines.  So
  if at any point during the presentation, or afterwards,
  we're going to questions, you can have questions for
  the Applicant or the Board or any of the other parties.
  Just bear that in mind.
       So, Karyn, who will be presenting for the
  Applicant?
  MS. KOWBEL:              Christine Kowbel, legal
  counsel for Lupin Mines.
       Belinda Labatte will be -- will be commencing the
  presentation and then handing it off to various members
  of the team.
  MS. AUTUT:               All right.  Thanks, Christine.
  So, Belinda, whenever you're ready.
  Presentation by Lupin Mines Incorporated
  MS. LABATTE:             Good evening.  Thank you,
  Mr. Chair, the Nunavut Water Board.  Delighted to be
  here in Kugluktuk with you this evening.  Members of
  the community, hello.  Belinda Labatte, Mandalay
  Resources and a director of Lupin Mines.
       You've heard, this evening, about the Nunavut
  Board, Nunavut Water Board process, and I'd like to
  tell you and share with you the story of our company
  and how we came to be here, which is also my story.
  I've been with Mandalay Resources since 2009, which is
  when this company was started, a much shorter history
  than Lupin Mines.
       This is a picture of one of the mines that we own
  in Australia, and this is a process where they're
  drilling to see what we have underground, and those
  containers are sheltering the community from two
  things:  Noise and dust.  Next slide.
       I won't go into this.  Since we are a public
  company, we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange,
  we are obligated, when we talk about the future, to
  tell you that the future may not happen, and so these
  are the forward-looking statements that we are required
  to put in our presentation.
       So who are we?  What do we do?  How do we work?
  We are an international mining company.  We have
  projects in Australia, the southern part.  It's a very
  difficult time right now for the Australians.  They're
  dealing with a lot of fires.  Fortunately, we are a
  fire shelter because we have a lot of infrastructure in
  that area, so we're watching very carefully what's
  happening in Australia.  We also operate a mine in
  Sweden, which is very far north, as you can see, not as
  far north as Kugluktuk, but also very cold weather and
  a lot of cold-weather issues, and that is how we came
  to own Lupin Mines.
       So we produce, approximately, with, between the
  two mines, 90 to 100,000 ounces of gold and another
  metal called antimony.
       Our first mine, so when Mandalay came into
  existence, was this mine in Australia, Costerfield,
  which we acquired in 2009, and that's when I also was
  there to assist with that process, and then we acquired
  the Björkdal Mine, Elgin, in 2014.
       It took us some time to learn about the company
  and learn about Lupin and the operation, and we had
  made the decision, a number of years -- a few years
  after, to move from the care and maintenance process to
  final closure.
       In terms of our company, we are well-financed.  We
  have over $20 million of cash to support our two
  operating mines and the work that we're talking about
  here today.  Next slide.
       So that's what we do.  Who we are, we are based in
  Toronto.  I am from Toronto, though I grew up in
  Montreal, and we have a pretty international group.
  Our CEO came with the company when we acquired our mine
  in Chile, which is currently not operating, but he
  moved to Toronto with his family.  He's from Australia.
  Our CFO is from Australia, and we have a board of
  directors whose role is to oversee all the work that we
  do at Mandalay, including any projects that are at the
  end of their lifecycle and have to be closed, and I'm
  going share with you some stories about what we have
  done in our company as a responsible company.
       We will have already closed mines.  This is not
  the first one, but it is the largest.  I would like to
  mention for the benefit of yourselves that you know
  that we have done this before, and for the Nunavut
  Water Board, that our directors, Mr. Terry Ackerman,
  Mr. Peter Jones, have significant experience with mine
  closures in Arizona, in the United States, Argentina.
  Dominic Duffy was responsible for closing two mine
  sites in Chile, and Peter Jones has experience working
  in closures in Canada, and they fully support the
  process that we're going through today.  Next slide.
       How do we work?  This is something I really enjoy
  talking about because I want to share with you that we
  are a values-based company.  Living our values is about
  people, for themselves, having values that we share as
  individuals and as a company.
       These values were not just words that came out.
  They were developed by groups of people who worked
  together in communities similar to yourselves, and
  these have not changed in many years, and we purposely
  decided to talk about the word because it means
  something, so let me just tell you what it means to me
  and what it means to us.
       Top-left is "safety".  Everything we do in our
  company, it's safety first.  We only produce gold if it
  is produced safely.  It is the Number 1 item on an
  agenda whenever we meet with our general managers and
  every board meeting that we have; and, here, when we go
  through our process, the care and maintenance and if we
  go through, and as we intend to, when we get our
  licence that we are requesting, the closure of Lupin
  Mines, it is safety first.  Our contractor understands
  this, and the philosophy is that that matters.  The
  people who work with us will work safely.
       "Integrity" is about doing what you say you will
  do and doing so even when nobody is looking or
  listening, and when we speak and when we communicate,
  we follow through with what we say we're going to do,
  and this has been absolutely key in our communications
  with Nunavut Water Board, with CIRNAC, with anybody
  that we talk to about Lupin or other mines.
       "Responsibility", this is really why we are here.
  We made a decision that we want to close Lupin Mines,
  that this was the right thing to do because we are a
  responsible mining company, and this is part of it.  We
  are not generating any revenue from this.  This is
  about sharing in what everybody's objective is, which
  is the right thing to do, is to have the appropriate
  and most efficient way to put the environment back to
  what it was, I would say, in perhaps an even better
  condition than as it was, when we look at the pictures,
  and do so with everybody being on the same page and
  having as transparent a process as we can.  So
  "responsibility" is all about taking responsibility for
  our actions and the environment.
       "Performance and innovation", we want to look
  always at the best way to do something and focus on
  performance and create value for all of our
  stakeholders, not just our investors, as we are a
  public company, but for our employees, that they
  believe in the work that they do, and for our community
  members, that they value our presence in the community;
  and I would like to just reinforce this because where
  we do operate, in Sweden and in Australia, we have
  taken the time to do significant work on community
  surveys and finding out what people think, including,
  as well, the employees.  I personally did this work a
  number of times for the company.
       And "agility" is about moving in a way that is
  responsive.  We don't want to be the last person to
  show up at any meeting or with any process.  We want to
  do it well, properly, and be responsive.
       I would like to say that I thank the CIRNAC and
  Nunavut Water Board in working in a collaborative way,
  and I think that we've shown that these values, they
  are workable, and we can work together with this mind
  set.  Next slide.
       So I'll just read out to how we -- how we look at
  our work and how we conduct our work.
       We believe that our employees live and work safely
  and that they experience satisfaction from high
  performance, and, again, whether a mine is operating or
  it's in a crisis situation or it's in care and
  maintenance or in closure, this holds true.  The
  communities in which we operate value our presence.
  Our environmental impact is minimized and causes no
  permanent harm.  Everything in the filed -- final
  reclamation and closure plan speaks to this.  We have a
  large and diversified set of customers, and, finally,
  that our shareholders realize a superior total return
  on their investment and that they, too, support our
  corporate values.  Next slide.
       Let me just walk you through a few of the projects
  before we talk about Lupin Mines because this is part
  of our story.
       We acquired a company in Chile, and similar to
  when we acquired Elgin, there were projects there that
  were not operating and were not a focus of the company.
  Without any government intervention, without anybody
  telling us what to do with those projects, we
  proactively spent the money to close them.
       La Cascada mine is one such example.  It was a
  gold, silver mine not operated by us.  It was a
  complete rehabilitation of the mine site.  There was no
  security on this mine.  We took the initiative to
  rehabilitate it.
       The work that we did there included closing
  underground access, dismantling, removing
  infrastructure, profiling the waste dumps, and local
  vegetation was used throughout.  It was approved by the
  regulator in Chile and closed in 2014, and the bottom
  photo, although not very clear, shows you that it looks
  very well-integrated into the environment.
       The next slide is about Furioso mine, which was a
  second mine that we made a decision to close.  This had
  an issue of acid-generating rock operated by prior
  owners.  There, we were backfilling the whole open pit,
  capping of the pit with several layers, including a
  complete asphalt layer.  This closure, we also capped
  an underground portal as it was a combination
  open-pit/underground mine.  The closure was also
  approved by the Chilean government, and there was no
  security on this mine.  It was something that we did
  proactively.  Next slide.
       Here's some pictures to share.  Again, this was
  never operated by our company, but we recognized that
  an environmentally responsible company, this is also --
  this is what we expect of ourselves, what the Board
  expects, and what our investors expect, and you can see
  here, there's some layers of asphalt, the closing of
  the underground portal.  Next slide.
       Wastes were relocated, and a hundred percent of
  the infrastructure was closed and removed, nothing
  needed to be there after the fact, and you can see here
  a picture of a three-year process whereby it looks very
  well-integrated into the environment.
       So now we're talking about the Lupin mine.  You
  have a bit of an idea of our story and where we work
  and what we have done, and -- we can go to the next
  slide -- I'm going to walk you through a bit of the
  work that we've done over the last few years before
  Karyn, who has been instrumental, a very valued team
  member here in leading us through to the point that we
  are here today, which is really, for us, a milestone.
  There is a tremendous amount of work that has been done
  by Karyn and by the individuals that you see beside me,
  behind me, and not everybody is here today, so that
  goes to show you that we do value the expertise of
  people in their field.  We don't know everything, and
  we're bringing in the people who know it best for very
  specific parts of this mine.
       And so if we go back to 2017, it was still under
  care and maintenance.  We, as a company, we had to do a
  lot of learning about working in this environment with
  Karyn.  She was the brain.  We had only acquired the
  mine in 2014, and so we needed some time, but we worked
  through it, and we conducted environmental effects
  monitoring, numerous studies in 2017, including diesel
  sampling, asbestos-materials assessment, and we
  conducted a Phase 1 and 2 environmental site
  assessment, and you can see that already at that point,
  we started to remove some hazardous waste.  Next slide.
       If we go forward to the next year, 2018, still in
  care and maintenance, but we continued the work that
  was required of us by the various groups, and the
  environmental effects monitoring program continued.  We
  started to do reclamation at Cell 5, progressive
  reclamation.  Esker material was now being used to
  cover the tailings, which is great because it puts us
  in a really good position to finish the work over the
  next two years.  We did fuel-tank cleaning and soil
  sampling from tailings areas and land farm and more
  work to remove building content, all kinds of things
  that you can imagine, furniture, electronics, and some
  other hazardous materials, paints, and aerosols.  In
  this year, 32,000 kilograms of hazardous materials were
  removed from site for disposal.
       Lupin 2019, care and maintenance activities
  continued.  We, again, completed more studies because,
  at this point, we were getting a lot of clarity that
  moving into final closure and reducing our
  environmental liability was the right thing for the
  company and, we believe, a positive thing for the site
  as we did not see any other options to restart this
  mine, and it has been under care and maintenance since
  2005.
       We had new studies that were requested from us at
  the technical meeting, which was mentioned earlier, and
  these studies have helped LMI de-risk the closure
  process, so even though there's a lot of work here,
  it's also -- it also helps de-risk everything that
  we're going to do going forward.
       The studies that we did include studies on how
  climate change will impact the site and permafrost, the
  esker coverage of old tailings, how much we need and
  where, water-quality levels, geochemistry analysis,
  hydrology studies, and dam risk assessments.
  Remediation works continued with Dam K repairs as well.
       One other thing that is important, and Kenny,
  who's sitting behind me to the right, was we had made a
  decision, with the support of our board of directors,
  to go through closure and that we could do so in an
  efficient way, but we needed a contractor to help us,
  and I believe Kenny will speak a little bit about the
  work that he's going to do on site and what the next
  two years are going to look like for LMI.
       I think at this point, I'm going to hand it over
  to Karyn Lewis, so if you haven't met Karyn, Karyn
  knows everything about the site, and we have Kenny
  beside her, and then I'll come back and just say a few
  words about how we communicate with one another and how
  important this is to closing a site of this magnitude.
  MS. LEWIS:               Hi.  I'm Karyn Lewis from LMI.
  I recognize some of you out there from working at site.
       So we're going to be talking now about what we're
  going to be doing at site for 2020, 2021, and, finally,
  with the final ice road in 2022.
       Nahanni Construction is going to be helping carry
  out our closure over the next two years, and I'm going
  to have Kenny Ruptash here go over what's actually
  going to -- what their team is actually going to be
  completing over the next couple years.
  MR. RUPTASH:             Hi, everyone.  I realize that
  some of you can't see me, so I'll stand up so you can
  see my face real quick just so you can come -- you know
  who to talk to in the end -- sorry.  It's Kenny Ruptash
  with Nahanni -- just so you know who to come and talk
  to after the presentation, after everything's said and
  done here.  I'm here to, kind of, walk you through what
  the process is for cleanup.
       A little bit about our company first.  We're born
  and raised in the north.  In '86, the company was
  started.  When 90 North actually built the arena here,
  Nahanni was involved in it.  We came up and did the
  concrete.  We've only done work in the north, stuck to
  the north, and we've -- I guess, about ten years ago, a
  little bit better, 12 years ago, branched into
  remediation, so we cleaned up the Tundra Mine in NWT,
  there's nine mine sites on Gordon Lake, heavily
  involved in giant mine cleanup, so I say that because
  we've got some expertise in-house on how to -- how to
  clean up mines, how to do it properly, and how to train
  and bring up employees along the way.
       So starting the project out, we'll be constructing
  an ice road.  Coming out of the Yellowknife, we will
  bring all the equipment and materials to actually do
  the -- do the cleanup.  Once we arrive at the site,
  we'll be blasting open the crown pillar, the pillar of
  rock to open up the underground.  The reason we're
  doing that is in Year 2 there's some heavily
  contaminated rock and soils that going to be going into
  the underground, so it's getting -- or I might be
  talking too quick here.  Apologies.  The bad rock, the
  rock that is going to contaminate the environment the
  most, is going to be put into the underground so it's
  not able to contaminate anymore.
       There's two main streams of work, when we arrive
  at site.  One, at the mine site, we're going to be
  deconstructing all the buildings, taking them down,
  demolishing them, putting them into a landfill.  At the
  same time, we'll be pulling esker from the esker source
  and putting it on top of the tailings ponds,
  essentially, creating a barrier between the old
  tailings and the environment so that water's not
  getting into it, snow's not getting onto it, animals
  can't access it.  It's, essentially, the animals will
  be walking on esker now, as opposed to the old
  tailings.
       The covering of the tailings is going to be done
  in Year 1.  We'll also be treating and discharging
  water.  Once it's clean, we'll put it out into the
  environment.  From there, we're going to be doing some
  reinforcing of a couple of dams so that they are
  stronger or more robust, longer lasting.  That will be
  done in Year 1, as well, and then the complete
  demolition of the mine site will be completed in Year 1
  as well.
       Year 2, there's a cover similar to the one we put
  on the tailings overtop of the entire mine site when
  the buildings are gone so that animals can't access it,
  and water can't get to the old infrastructure.  It's,
  essentially, just an esker cover in the -- in the
  tundra.
       Now, through all that, I realize that's very a
  high level in what we're doing, but the -- there are
  job opportunities throughout that some are fairly
  clear.  Operating equipment, we can list the equipment,
  but there's equipment operators.  There's direct work,
  but there's also what I call "indirect work", or what
  we call "indirect work":  Kitchen staff, site services
  for road maintenances, maintenance, fuelling, watering.
       We, at Nahanni, have been speaking with Helen, and
  I'm going to -- I'm going to say her last name wrong,
  so don't tell her, Helen Tologonak and Miranda
  Atatahak, about job placement and postings so that the
  community knows what the specific jobs we're looking to
  fill are, where to apply for the jobs, and how to --
  who to speak to and how to go about speaking to them.
       We intend on having about 70 people on site at a
  time, so there's lots to be done, lots of positions to
  be filled.  If you have any more questions, I'm happy
  to -- happy to talk to you after the meeting, or even
  if you have any questions right now, to come up and
  ask, but as far as the work, at a high level, that's --
  that's the intention.  I don't know if there's anything
  else you guys ...  okay.  Then I'll turn it back over.
  MS. LABATTE:             Thank you, Karyn and Kenny.
  Could we go to the next slide, please.
       So in terms of the communications, we have
  realized that it is really important to be in
  continuous communication with one another, so what this
  looks like, so my work, I work in the -- on the
  leadership team, and I do not do Lupin Mines'
  day-to-day.  I'm responsible for all the projects that
  are not operating, and Karyn works on Lupin Mines every
  day and is key in keeping everything going on time, on
  budget, and ensuring that everybody has the right
  information.
       We will be working very closely with our
  contractor, Nahanni.  We will have regular
  communications as we go through full closure, and we
  have the support of engineers and consultants to ensure
  that everything we do is sound from an environmental
  perspective and an engineering perspective.  At the
  same time, with all the government groups, Environment
  Canada, CIRNAC, Nunavut Water Board, we will engage
  with anybody who would like to speak to us about this
  project and as required, and with the community here
  this evening, it's a great opportunity to get any
  questions from you about the work that we are doing,
  and if you prefer in writing, that is fine as well.
  Next slide.
       I'd just like to take a moment to talk to you
  about a project in the vicinity, Ulu, which also came
  to us when we bought the Elgin company and the Björkdal
  mine.
       It is located approximately 523 kilometres north
  of Yellowknife.  I would say that's the same as from
  Toronto to Montreal, but that may or may not be
  relevant, but, for me, it gives me some sense of how
  long it would be to get there.  It is with the KIA, the
  Kitikmeot Settlement Area of Nunavut, and we had been
  performing care and maintenance on this project, which
  is a gold project.
       We're very happy that we found a solution with
  this project, and very late last year, we concluded our
  work with Blue Star Gold, who has acquired the Ulu
  property and the licence and will be beginning an
  exploration campaign on-site.  I cannot speak for Blue
  Star, but I do know that they have some interesting
  ideas for the region to explore the site.  They will
  assume all the environmental liabilities, past and
  present, of the Ulu property.
       So with that, I've shared with you who we are,
  what we do, and how we work, how we came to obtain
  Lupin Mines, and what we will be doing going forward,
  and I will pass it back to you, Mr. Chair, unless there
  are any questions from the community, and we look
  forward to working through this with you.
       Thank you very much.
  MS. AUTUT:               Okay.  Thank you, Belinda.
       So at this point, are there any questions from the
  public to Lupin Mines?  Anybody care to ask any
  questions or make comments relative to the project?
       Sir, if you want to come up to a mic, yeah, and
  just tell us who you are so it gets on the record, any
  one of them, yeah.
  Questions for Lupin Mines Incorporated by Community
  Representatives
  MR. KAIYOGANA:           Hello.  My name is Richard
  Kaiyogana.
       For the Lupin production, I was working at the
  Lupin mines in 1981, to start off.  I probably started
  early.
       I just want to get -- when you're mining, a gold
  mine is different from diamond mining, and the most
  important thing is -- is the tailings.  To extract
  gold, you have to have some chemicals to get the gold
  out, so the main thing I'm concerned about is the
  tailings, get all that done, cleared off for the
  wildlife, any wildlife, and that, as an Elder, I think,
  kind of, speak for the Elders, too.
       Thank you.
  MS. AUTUT:               Thank you, Richard.
       Did Lupin want an opportunity to respond or
  acknowledge the comment?
  MS. LABATTE:             Thank you for that, that
  comment, and I do agree.  We do have gold mines in our
  portfolio, and all of them have tailings dams, and we
  take great care with our tailings dams and how we
  manage that, and every one of them is in compliance.
       With respect to Lupin Mines, it is absolutely a
  priority.  There's been a great deal of work done on
  how we will manage that and the covering of those
  tailings dams with esker, and I think we're on the same
  page, and, yeah, I would say it's also one of the first
  things that we're going to do in the timeline of the
  closure of this mine.  As you've heard earlier, there's
  been some work already.
       Thank you.
  MS. AUTUT:               Karyn, go ahead.
  MS. LEWIS:               Thank you.  Karyn, LMI.
       I just wanted to also note that we will have, you
  know, monitoring years after to make sure that the
  performance of the -- at the tailings cover, et cetera,
  and still be doing testing.  We're not finishing the
  closure work and then walking away.  We will have a
  number of years of monitoring and looking at and making
  sure that everything is performing adequately before
  we're done at site.
  MS. AUTUT:               It may be beneficial, to the
  folks in the audience, if you wanted to elaborate a
  little more on what the management of the tailings
  process is going to look like, if you want to get into
  a bit more detail, recognizing that there weren't a lot
  of details specific to that in the presentation, and
  not everybody was here today to hear your presentation
  this morning.
  MR. RUPTASH:             Yeah, Kenny here with Nahanni,
  Kenny Ruptash.
       The cover that's going on top of the tailings is a
  fairly thick cover of esker.  The intention is that the
  tailings stay frozen, and the permafrost comes into the
  cover a little bit.  There will no -- there is no
  opportunity for water to get in, wildlife to access it.
  It's going to be completely covered.
       After it's covered, there's equipment or
  instruments that are put in to monitor how frozen it
  is, how much -- or if there's any water coming out,
  what is the quality of the water.  There is not
  supposed to be, so if there is, we -- where we have
  instruments in to check it.  There is enough -- there's
  monitoring going on so we know how the cover is
  working, and we can confirm that it is working.
  MS. AUTUT:               Great.  Thank you for that.
       Are there any other questions from the -- from the
  public?
       No.  Okay.  So we'll move on, then, to the
  presentations from the other Intervenors, so if we
  could have Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
  Affairs come up to the table, please.
  Discussion
  MS. AUTUT:               So while we're getting Godwin
  set up here, we're going to go through some legal
  proceedings, so I'll hand the mic over to Teresa.
  MS. MEADOWS:             Thank you, Stephanie.  Teresa
  Meadows, legal counsel for the Nunavut Water Board.
       So my apologies, Mr. Chair.  I forgot to indicate
  to everyone that I had marked, as an exhibit, the hard
  copy of the PowerPoint presentation that Mandalay just
  presented at the Community Session, and I will be
  marking that as the next exhibit in the public hearing,
  so my apologies.  I should have done that before you
  spoke, but it is in the record now as the next exhibit
  in the public hearing.
       EXHIBIT 20 - Hard Copy, PowerPoint
       Presentation, Mandalay Resources Corporation
       (Community Session) (English)
  MS. AUTUT:               Okay.  Godwin, the floor is
  yours.
  Presentation by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
  Affairs Canada
  MR. OKONKWO:             Good evening, everyone.  My
  name is Godwin Okonkwo.  I am the manager of water
  resources with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
  Affairs Canada in Iqaluit.  I am joined here by a
  consultant Gerd from Arcadis, and Noah Noah, who is my
  colleague.  He works in the lands division in Iqaluit.
       I would like to thank the Nunavut Water Board for
  this opportunity to make a presentation at the public
  hearing regarding Lupin Mines Incorporated application
  to amend its water licence.  I would also like to thank
  the community of Kugluktuk for attending the public
  hearing this evening.
       At this time, I'd like to state that our
  presentation had been completed before the latest
  submissions by Lupin Mines and our discussions with
  them up until midnight yesterday, so some of the issues
  we're going to present, they have responded, and we
  have resolved them.  There's only one issue that's not
  completely resolved.
       So throughout the presentation, I will refer to my
  office, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
  Canada, as "CIRNAC", and so here is an outline of what
  my presentation will be:  I will start with mentioning
  our roles and our responsibility, and then I will
  mention about how we've contributed to this review
  process for the licence, and then talk about the
  technical review comments.
       So we have three major comments.  The first two
  have been resolved.  The last one has not completely
  been resolved.  So the first is on tailings and waste
  rock, the second is on closure and reclamation
  planning, and then the third is on a reclamation
  security cost estimate.
       So CIRNAC, we have a mandate to co-manage
  freshwater resources and manage Crown land in Nunavut
  under the following laws and agreement, so under the
  Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
  Affairs Act, the Nunavut Agreement, under the Nunavut
  Land Claims Agreement Act, the Nunavut Waters and
  Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act and regulations,
  the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, the
  Territorial Lands Act and regulations, and the Arctic
  Waters Pollution Prevention Act.
       I would like to say the department also
  administers and enforces regulatory authorizations that
  are related to Nunavut's Crown land and freshwater
  resources.
       So CIRNAC participates in water licences processes
  administered by the Nunavut Water Board, along with
  other interested parties, providing technical advice
  and expertise for the Board's consideration.
       So up until now, the department has participated
  and made a few submissions to the Nunavut Water Board
  regarding the application to amend and renew the Lupin
  water licence.
       So by March 4th, 2019, it was information request,
  and then we attended and did a presentation here in
  Kugluktuk at the technical meeting on June -- between
  June 6th and 7th, 2019, and then we reviewed
  submissions for some of the commitments that came from
  that technical meeting, and we submitted that December
  6th, 2019, and then our final submission was December
  8, 2019.
       I'd just like to say, as well, that we've also had
  several meetings with LMI -- LMI is the company -- to
  discuss all of the issues -- some of these issues we
  have, and we resolved a lot of them.
       This picture was taken by my staff when they
  visited the site, and so this is just me -- I know some
  of you know the Lupin mine, but just to give a brief
  overview of the mine site.
       So Lupin mine site is situated in Nunavut
  Kitikmeot region, approximately 250 kilometres west of
  Arviat and 285 kilometres southeast of Kugluktuk.
  Lupin operated as a gold mine beginning in the 1980s.
  It has been in care and maintenance since 2005, and is
  presently under closure.
       So Lupin's mine application today is for renewal
  and amendment of its existing Type "A" Nunavut Water
  Board Water Licence, which proposes final closure and
  reclamation for the mine site.
       I'd like to say at this point that CIRNAC
  anticipates that a final closure plan of the mine site
  should be detailed enough to capture the full work to
  be carried out and eliminate, as much as possible,
  unknowns, environmental liabilities, or any surprises
  from the site into the future.
       So our first issue was on the potential
  contamination that can happen from the waste rock used
  as construction material.  So CIRNAC wanted to know how
  the waste rock was used for construction of
  infrastructure such as dams to know if we need some
  geochemical testing.
       LMI indicated that much of the -- most of the
  waste rock will be encapsulated by permafrost.  LMI
  also restated its commitment to post-closure
  monitoring, so after closure, they will keep
  monitoring, and CIRNAC was satisfied, and we will
  consider this issue resolved.
       Another issue we had was on the waste rock storage
  dome design and seepage.  So LMI indicated they would
  make the mill-site footprint area smaller by pulling
  the rocks that were used as the base for the buildings
  and then covering it with clean soil in a dome-shaped
  structure.  So CIRNAC has been discussing, with LMI, on
  a detailed schedule of work on how they are going to do
  this to reduce the environmental impact and make it
  stable for the long term.  I just want to say that
  CIRNAC is satisfied with LMI's response on this issue,
  so we think this issue is resolved.
       We had -- CIRNAC identified another issue with --
  we wanted to know how LMI will deal with tailings.  I
  heard a community member talk about tailings, so we
  wanted to know how the tailings that are exposed right
  now would be managed and how the tailings that may be
  exposed, when they are reducing the water in the
  tailings management area, will be managed.
       CIRNAC is satisfied, and LMI confirmed, that they
  will cover the tailings on site, and they also had a
  commitment to provide more details on the cover design
  so that we can confirm the stability and erosion
  control during this licencing process, so we consider
  this issue also resolved.
       Another issue we were worried about was what we
  call the Human Health Ecological Risk Assessment.  So
  the objective of the Human Health Ecological Risk
  Assessment is to evaluate the potential risk to human
  health and environment from the contamination
  associated with the historical operations when the site
  operated.
       In order -- in order for us to be satisfied that
  we can -- that they will derive a site-specific target
  level for any potential risk and to use that
  site-specific target level to define areas that will
  require remediation and risk management.
       LMI responded to CIRNAC indicating commitment of
  the provision of a post-closure monitoring plan
  following discussion with stakeholders one year after
  issuance of the licence, and CIRNAC was satisfied with
  this.  We feel like the issue, for us, is resolved.
       So another issue is the geotechnical details of
  engineered structure.  So our idea here was since Lupin
  mine is working towards final closure of the site, we
  thought we wanted more details about the geotechnical
  design for us to be able to evaluate if the proposed
  closure meant that the way that they've decided to
  close will be protective of the environment in the long
  term.
       CIRNAC's concern, one of our main concerns was the
  long-term stability of the dams in the tailings
  management area, which is expected to keep
  acid-generated tailings from being washed into the
  environment.
       LMI provided some more details through various
  memos and also committed to providing more details
  during the licencing process.  CIRNAC is satisfied with
  their response.
       I had a question for them in the afternoon, if the
  extra information would be included in their final
  closure plan, and at the time, they said they were not
  thinking of revising -- updating the closure plan with
  the extra information.
       Finally, our last issue is on the reclamation
  security cost estimate, and so the reclamation cost
  estimate they have provided so far, we -- CIRNAC had a
  challenge because we thought we didn't have adequate
  details to justify the cost estimate they provided.
       So, currently, the security estimate we hold --
  and "security estimate" is money we hold so that we're
  sure that the site is cleaned and reclaimed.  So we
  currently hold $26.1 million, and the estimate that LMI
  has done to do the work is about $23 million, but the
  position of CIRNAC is that the Crown does not want to
  have any liability or responsibility to clean the site,
  so we're recommending that the Crown retain the entire
  26.1 million, and as the site is cleaned, is reclaimed,
  there can be a release of funds to LMI.
       And so connected to that is what we call a
  "security release framework", so we've have been
  working together with LMI to determine how we're going
  to be releasing the funds to them when they complete
  the work, and what CIRNAC's position is, is if the work
  is done, that sometimes it's validated by an engineer,
  somebody who will stamp and sign and say the work is
  done, and there's a confirmation that environmental
  liability is reduced, then CIRNAC will consider
  releasing the part of the funds for that work.
       So of these three major issues we had, the first
  two we think have been resolved successfully, and the
  first two are long-term stability of the cover and
  dams, management of tailings exposed when water levels
  are lowered.
       And the last issue of the insufficient information
  for security estimation, on that last issue, CIRNAC
  has -- our position is the Crown does not want to have
  any liability to clean up the site.  We want to retain
  the amount of money we are currently holding.  We
  support progressive reclamation and progressive release
  of the funds as work is done, but it has to be based on
  the criteria that I just mentioned.  So you do the
  work, it's validated.  There's evidence of reduction in
  environmental liability, and then we can consider a
  refund.
       Koana.
  MS. AUTUT:               Thank you, Godwin.
       So before we take questions, we're going to take a
  short break, give people an opportunity to stretch and
  grab something to drink and a snack, so we'll come back
  in 15 minutes; okay?
       Thank you.
  (ADJOURNMENT)
  MS. AUTUT:               All right.  So if we could
  take our seats, we'll get started here in the next
  couple of minutes.
       So before we move on to Environment Canada, are
  there any questions to Godwin related to the CIRNAC
  presentation?
       If not, okay, so I'm going to ask Teresa to swear
  in Environment and Climate Change Canada.
  MS. MEADOWS:             Thank you, Stephanie, and
  thank you, Mr. Chair.  Teresa Meadows, legal counsel
  for the Nunavut Water Board.
       So for the benefit of community members, the --
  earlier today, the representatives from LMI and the
  representatives from Crown-Indigenous Relations and
  Northern Affairs Canada had provided their technical
  sessions, and so they had been sworn in to give their
  evidence, but Environment and Climate Change Canada
  didn't -- we ran out of time this afternoon, and so
  they weren't able to present, so I'm going to swear
  them in before they present their Community Session
  tonight, so if I can have the witnesses state and spell
  their name for the record, please.
  MS. WALKER:              Eva Walker, E-V-A W-A-L-K-E-R.
  MS. WILSON:              Anne Wilson, A-N-N-E
  W-I-L-S-O-N.
  MS. MEADOWS:             Thank you.  Teresa Meadows,
  legal counsel for the Nunavut Water Board.
  EVA WALKER, ANNE WILSON, Sworn
  MS. MEADOWS:             Thank you.  Teresa Meadows,
  legal counsel for the Nunavut Water Board.
       Do you have a different presentation than -- okay.
  So I will file your presentation materials as the next
  exhibit in this public hearing.
       EXHIBIT 21 - Hard Copy, PowerPoint
       Presentation, Lupin Mine Presentation to the
       Nunavut Water Board by Environment and
       Climate Change Canada (Community Session)
       (English/Inuinnaqtun)
  MS. MEADOWS:             Thank you, Mr. Chair.  Those
  are my procedural matters.
  MS. AUTUT:               Okay.  Thank you, Teresa.
       If you're ready to get on underway, please
  proceed.
  Presentation by Environment and Climate Change Canada
  MS. WALKER:              Eva Walker from Environment
  and Climate Change Canada.  I apologize for having my
  back, sort of, to people.
       So good evening, Mr. Chair, Board members, Elders,
  and community members, Board Staff, and parties that
  have joined us today.
       So as I said, my name is Eva Walker.  I'm a senior
  environmental assessment coordinator with Environment
  and Climate Change Canada, and with me today, I have
  Anne Wilson, who is our lead water quality expert.  In
  this presentation, I'll summarize the department's
  final written submission for the Lupin Mines water
  licence amendment.
       So to start off, I'll go through Environment and
  Climate Change Canada's mandate, briefly touch upon the
  Acts and regulations and legislation, and then provide
  a summary from our comments and technical and final
  written submissions.
       So under the Department of Environment Act, the
  powers, duties, and functions of the Minister of
  Environment and Climate Change extend to matters such
  as the preservation and enhancement of quality of the
  natural environmental, including water, air, and soil
  quality, the coordination of relevant policies and
  programs of the Government of Canada, renewable
  resources, including migratory birds and not -- other
  non-domestic flora and fauna, meteorology, and the
  enforcement of rules and regulations.
       Environment Canada -- Environment and Climate
  Change Canada's mandate is governed by the Department
  of the Environment Act, Canadian Environmental
  Protection Act, the Pollution Prevention Provisions of
  the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act,
  and the Species at Risk Act.
       Environment and Climate Change Canada submitted
  seven technical comments to the Nunavut Water Board.
  Based on the responses from Lupin Mines Incorporated,
  as well as discussions with Lupin Mines, Environment
  and Climate Change Canada considers all of our
  technical comments resolved.
       I will briefly summarize them for you now.  So
  Environment and Climate Change Canada had technical
  comments related to climate change modelling on how
  well the tailings cover was working; assumptions around
  perimeter dams, their stability, and likelihood for
  seepage; duration and details of monitoring after
  closure work is finished; the effectiveness of the
  one-metre gravel cover over the tailings to prevent
  acid -- acidic drainage and metal leaching from the
  tailings; the handling and containment of waste rock
  that may generate drainage and leach metals that might
  seep into water bodies as well as details on monitoring
  that will be done; and, finally, the disposal of
  asbestos.
       Environment and Climate Change Canada also had one
  comment on the draft water licence that was submitted
  to the Nunavut Water Board by Lupin Mines Incorporated.
  This comment was about the change to the Metal and
  Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, and that concludes
  my presentation.
       Thank you.
  MS. AUTUT:               Thank you, Eva.
       Are there any questions for Environment and
  Climate Change Canada?
       Seeing no hands, thank you very much.  At this
  point, I'm going to hand the microphone back over to
  the public hearing Chair, Lootie Toomasie, to close off
  the Community Session portion of this public hearing,
  so Lootie.
  Closing Remarks
  THE CHAIR:               Thank you, Stephanie, and
  everyone who attended tonight's Community Session here
  in Kugluktuk.  Your questions and comments about LMI's
  renewal and amendment application were appreciated by
  me and also by my panel members, Amanda Hanson Main and
  Alex Ningark.
       As well, please let other members of the community
  know that they are also welcome to attend the public
  hearing tomorrow.
       On behalf of the Nunavut Water Board, I would also
  like to thank the Applicant and the Intervenors for
  their presentation and answers to questions from
  members of the public here tonight.  Special thanks to
  the Elders, youth, and other community members of
  Kugluktuk for sharing their real stories and
  information with the panel and participating and
  contributing to a productive and respectful Community
  Session.
       The Community Session is now adjourned.  I look
  forward to seeing you all back here at 9 AM tomorrow
  morning, so let us close the Community Session by
  prayer.  Let's stand.
  Closing Prayer
  _______________________________________________________
  PROCEEDINGS ADJOURNED UNTIL 9:00 AM, JANUARY 16, 2020
  _______________________________________________________

  

  
  
  CERTIFICATE OF TRANSCRIPT:
  
       I, Julie Albert, certify that the foregoing pages
  are a complete and accurate transcript of the
  proceedings, taken down by me in shorthand and
  transcribed from my shorthand notes to the best of my
  skill and ability.
       Dated at the City of Calgary, Province of Alberta,
  this 26th day of January 2020.

  
  ________________________________
  Julie Albert, CSR(A)
  Official Court Reporter