Whale Tail Pit tailings authorization

Summary#

The final rule SOR/2020-131 amends the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (MDMER) to add seven water bodies near Baker Lake, Nunavut as authorized tailings impoundment areas. It lets Agnico Eagle Mines Limited use those waters for mine waste for the Whale Tail Pit expansion, effective June 18, 2020, provided the company carries out a fish habitat compensation plan that offsets the loss of habitat.

What it does#

• Adds seven water bodies (Lakes A50–A53 and three short connecting watercourses near the Whale Tail site) to Schedule 2 of the MDMER, designating them as tailings impoundment areas.
• Authorizes the deposit of mine waste (tailings, effluent and some waste rock storage) into those waters for the Whale Tail Pit Expansion Project.
• Requires the mine owner, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, to prepare and get approval for a fish habitat compensation plan (FHCP) before using the waters.
• Requires an irrevocable letter of credit to pay for the FHCP so the compensation work will be funded if the company does not complete it.
• Key numbers from the project plan:
  • Total fish habitat to be lost: 17.47 hectares.
  • Compensatory habitat planned to be created: 20.9 hectares.
  • Estimated FHCP cost (present value over ten years): about $1.12 million (undiscounted estimate shown as $1.34 million in the regulatory analysis).
  • Attenuation pond storage needed: 750,000 cubic metres (annual storage between October and May).

Who's affected#

• Agnico Eagle Mines Limited — the mine owner and operator who will use the new authorization.
• Local Inuit organizations and communities near the project site, notably the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KivIA) and the hamlets of Baker Lake and Chesterfield Inlet, which were consulted during the review.
• Fish and fish habitat in the affected lakes and watercourses (species noted in the analysis include lake trout and arctic char, plus burbot and small fish such as ninespine stickleback).
• Federal departments that regulate and monitor the site, including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Department of the Environment.
• Anyone who relies on local fisheries or the land and water near the Whale Tail project for traditional, subsistence, or recreational uses may notice changes to local waterways or fish habitat.

If it is unclear who else may be affected, the regulatory text and its analysis focus mainly on the mine operator, local Indigenous organizations, local communities, and federal regulators.

Why it matters#

• This change permits a mining company to use particular lakes and watercourses for mine waste disposal. That directly causes a measurable loss of fish habitat (17.47 hectares) but also requires the company to create and protect slightly more habitat (20.9 hectares) elsewhere as compensation.
• The compensation plan is intended to leave fish habitat in the region with “no net loss” or better conditions. The company must post money up front (the letter of credit) and the plan must be approved by the federal government.
• Local communities and Indigenous organizations were consulted and, according to the federal documents, Kivalliq Inuit Association supported the Amendments. The project was also reviewed under the Nunavut Impact Review Board process.
• Practically, the changes matter for fish that live or migrate through the area and for people who use those fish and waters. The government and the company will monitor and enforce the plan over time; mining at the site is expected through the mid-2020s with closure and long-term monitoring to follow.