Dominion Diamonds Lynx Project Wekeezhii Land and Water Board - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1

Dominion Diamond’s Lynx Project Wek’eezhii Land and Water Board Public Hearing Feb 6, 2014

2

Dominion Diamond is the NWT’s Largest Mining Company

Lorem ipsum

We are a Canadian owned Company

Dominion owns:

Most of the Ekati Diamond Mine (80%) Part of the Diavik Diamond Mine (40%)

Dominion employs more Northerners than any other mining company in the NWT

3

Dominion’s Ekati Diamond Mine

The Ekati Mine is in the Coppermine River drainage area

4

Dominion’s Ekati Diamond Mine (cont’d)

Ekati Main Camp is on the North side of Lac de Gras

Misery Camp is 29km from Ekati Main Camp

5

Location of Lynx Kimberlite Pipe

Lynx Pipe is ~3km southwest

• f the Misery

Camp / Mine Operations

6

Lynx Project – Proposed Land Use Permit Area

7

Misery Pushback and Proposed Lynx Project Schedule

Misery Pit Mining Reclamation Pump Flooding Reclamation Pit Lake Monitoring

• est. +10 years

Lynx Pit Water Licence / Land Use Permit Road Work Fishout Dewatering Mining

*see note below

Reclamation Pump Flooding Reclamation Pit Lake Monitoring

• est. +10 years

*The final scheduling for mining of Lynx Pit may be adjusted based on integration with possible future projects (yet to be approved), where this enables the direct and efficient use of granite waste rock for construction purposes.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Lynx Project General Development Schedule (reflects current operational scheduling, December 2013, that is subject to change)

8

Lynx Project – Baseline Studies 2002 Lynx area aquatic baseline studies 2013 Lynx area aquatic baseline studies

• Water quality
• Sediment quality
• Phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic invertebrates
• Fish and fish habitat

2013 Lynx area terrestrial baseline studies

• Air and noise
• Soils
• Vegetation
• Wildlife (raptors, upland birds, waterfowl, caribou, carnivore dens)
• Archeology

9

The Lynx Project Extends the Operation of Misery Site

Lynx development will extend the life of the Misery site for approximately 1-2 years The Misery camp, haul road, waste rock storage area, and minewater management facilities are already in place Lynx development will provide 4-5 months of kimberlite feed to the Ekati Process Plant

10

The Lynx Project requires Minimal New Development

3km road upgrade between Misery and Lynx sites 1km new road to support Lynx activities Lynx pit dewatering and minewater pipelines Fish-out and dewatering of Lynx Lake to expose the Lynx pipe Mining of the Lynx pipe

11

Lynx Access Road

• Caribou crossings will be constructed along Lynx access road
• Locations to be identified in discussion with Aboriginal communities

12

Lynx Access and Misery Haul Roads – Road Usage Lynx Access Road (new)

• Approximately 19,000 tonnes per day of material may be

hauled from Lynx Pit to a stockpile and/or waste rock storage area located at Misery

• Approximately 17 truck movements (loaded and unloaded)

per hour (95 tonne capacity trucks)

Misery Haul Road (existing)

• Lynx Project would extend the duration of haulage from

Misery to Ekati by approximately 5 months

Caribou Protection Measures

• Established procedures involving reduced speed limits and

road closures are effective in keeping caribou from being harmed

13

Lynx Project – Baseline Hydrology

14

Lynx Lake – Two Dewatering Options

DEWATERING ALIGNMENT ALTERNATIVE 1 (PIPELINE) DEWATERING ALIGNMENT ALTERNATIVE 2 (PIPELINE OR EXISTING CHANNEL)

The Dewatering Plan will be provided to the Board for review prior to dewatering

15

Lynx Lake Dewatering – Negligible Potential for Effects to Lac de Gras

• Volume of Lynx Lake is 0.01% the volume of Lac de Gras
• Rate of dewatering (0.1 m3/s over two months) will be

relatively low

• General water quality in both lakes is similar; Lynx flows

seasonally into Lac de Gras

• Mitigation strategies applied during the dewatering

process will limit the potential for total suspended solids loading to Lac de Gras

• Lynx Lake water with elevated total suspended solids

(TSS) will be pumped to the Misery water management system to allow for settlement of the solids prior to discharge to the receiving environment

16

Lynx Lake – Fish-Out and Off-setting Planning

• A Fisheries Act Authorization will be required for the Lynx

Project

• Initial discussions have occurred with DFO regarding the

Project

• The fish-out plan and off-setting plan will be developed in

consultation with DFO and with input from the communities

17

Lynx Project – Bedrock Geology

Lynx Pit is in granite

18

Lynx Project – Surface Runoff Management

• Deflection structures are a contingency that may or may

not be required

• If required, will likely only comprise berms to redirect

surface water flow away from the pit

• Surface water flow will be of natural runoff that will

continue to flow down Lynx Creek, not into the pit

• This water will not pick up lakebed sediments and will

not be a large volume

19

Lynx Project – Waste Rock and Ore Storage Management

20

Lynx Project – Misery Site Water Management

Proposed to also include:

• late stages of Lynx

Dewatering

• Lynx pit sump

21

Lynx Project – Water Management

• Lynx mine water will be pumped to the Misery water

management system

• Current effluent quality criteria (EQC) have been accepted

by the WLWB as adequately protective for effluent discharge volumes from Desperation Pond and King Pond

• Dominion proposes to add an annual maximum discharge

volume for Desperation Pond to:

• Maintain protection of the receiving environment provided by

the EQC

• Maintain operational flexibility

22

Lynx Project – Monitoring and Management Plans

• Activities at the Lynx Project will be incorporated into

existing monitoring and management plans related to the Water Licence:

• Waste Rock and Ore Storage Management Plan
• Wastewater and Processed Kimberlite Management Plan
• Interim Closure and Reclamation Plan
• Aquatic Effects Monitoring Program
• Surveillance Network Program
• Other monitoring programs will be updated to include the

Lynx Project:

• Air Quality Monitoring Program
• Wildlife Effects Monitoring Program

23

Lynx Project – Reclamation The Lynx open pit, road and rock pile (if not used for construction) will be reclaimed under the existing Ekati Mine Interim Closure and Reclamation Plan (ICRP):

• The pit will be filled with natural runoff, precipitation and

water pumped from Lac de Gras (~ 6 months to refill)

• An outlet from the final pit lake will be established to join

natural flow channels

• Design of shallow zones will be considered according to

the ICRP

• Water quality during and after filling will be monitored
• All areas will be safe for people and wildlife

Reclamation Security was estimated using the existing Reclaim model and accepted by AANDC

24

Masi Cho