Chamber of Mines News Briefs – April 21 - 24, 2013 [Note: News headlines are hyperlinked to their stories in this document.] Sovereignty and Security News ...... 1 to put more business into Arctic Council: Aglukkaq ...... 1 NWT News...... 3 North Slave Métis denied land claim ...... 3 MP releases report on Northern impacts of Bill C-45 ...... 6 Northern NDP MP tables private member’s bill on waterway protection ...... 7 Giant Mine costs explained ...... 8 Resource Development and Energy News ...... 9 Ice roads, airships could work together ...... 9 MMG zinc project review on hold...... 11 No to as Canadian heritage river: Kivalliq org ...... 12 Avalon completes feasibility study ...... 12 Peregine wraps up bulk sampling at diamond property ...... 13

ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY AND SECURITY NEWS

Canada to put more business into Arctic Council: Aglukkaq IPolitics – April 23, 2013 Michelle Zilio Canada will roll out a plan to further incorporate business into the Arctic Council when it takes over chairmanship of the intergovernmental forum in May, Minister for the Arctic Council Leona Aglukkaq revealed in an interview with iPolitics. Aglukkaq, who is also the minister of Health and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, said she has been talking about increased industry involvement with the council for a year and a half. She said the council is “very open” to a forum that would focus on “Arctic state business practices” and bring key players to the table, such as shipping partners. “If we’re going to make decisions in the North, we need to make decisions that consider all factors,” said Aglukkaq. “I also think that there’s an opportunity to do more exchanges with business sectors, North to North.” However, it’s not clear how the council will partner with industry. Aglukkaq said she will reveal more details about that, along with all of her chairmanship initiatives and deliverables, when Canada takes over leadership of the council in Kiruna, Sweden on May 15. Canada will chair the council for two years. The council is chaired on a rotational basis by one of its eight permanent member states — Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. The last six years have been dominated by the Scandinavians — Norway chaired from 2006–’09, Denmark from 2009-’11 and Sweden from 2011-’13. The increased involvement of industry comes as a new focus for the council, whose Scandinavian leadership has centred on environmental sustainability for the last six years. None of the council’s six working groups or three task forces strictly focus on industry in the region. Aglukkaq’s stress on business comes at a time when interest in Northern natural resource extraction is booming.

Chamber News Briefs 1 According to a January 2013 Conference Board of Canada report, Northern metallic and non-metallic mineral output is expected to grow by 91 per cent, from $4.4 billion in 2011-’12 to $8.5 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent. To put those numbers into context, the average growth rate for the Canadian economy over that period is forecasted at 21.5 per cent, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.2 per cent. Speaking as an Inuk from , , Aglukkaq said the people of the North want development. “If we are going to develop our people, we need jobs. The mining industry in the North is where the jobs are going to be,” she said. “How do we ensure that people benefit from that? Through training in partnership with industry.” Aglukkaq said she would look to increase business collaboration across the region on issues such as job training, especially in the mining sector. While Aglukkaq hopes to strengthen the business presence on the council, her overall focus for the next two years aims to bring another critical voice to the table — that of the people of the North. Canada’s themes for its two-year chairmanship will be the development for the people of the North, with sub-themes of responsible Arctic resource development, safe Arctic shipping and sustainable circumpolar communities. As decisions are made in regards to these sub-themes, Aglukkaq said she hopes to ensure those directly affected will have their voice heard. “I’m frankly tired of being studied from afar,” she said. “We are investing in other areas that requires researchers to partner to come up with solutions that also recognize and value the traditional way of life.” For instance, Aglukkaq cited the European Union’s (EU) 2010 decision to ban seal fur and products, amid concerns of threats posed by hunters. She said the economic and sustenance consequences of the ban have had a detrimental effect on the Inuit, who eat the animal’s meat and rely on the fur for trade. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed support for Canada’s legal challenge of the EU seal ban at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Norway also has conducted a similar, yet separate, legal challenge against the EU. The seal ban appeared to be a real for point of frustration for Aglukkaq, who raised the issue several times during the sit-down interview with iPolitics. During a ministerial meeting in Nuuk, Greenland in 2011, the council agreed that when reviewing applications for permanent observer status, one of the criteria considered would have to be the applicant’s respect of indigenous ways of life. As a result of that declaration, Aglukkaq said the consequences of the seal ban will be considered as the council reviews applications for permanent observer status at the meeting in Kiruna next month. “Our overarching theme is the development for the people of the North and so with that, applications have been reviewed and are going to continue to be reviewed,” she said. “As a person who is indigenous aboriginal person from the North, I will bring that lens to reviewing those application.” The council also will consider applications for permanent observer status from non-Arctic states including China, India and South Korea. As the Arctic melts new shipping lanes open, cutting shipping time drastically, and resource extraction becomes more of a possibility. Non-Arctic states — especially China — have expressed great interest in obtaining permanent observer status at the council so they can have an influence on policy development for the region. But even if China, the EU or other states or stakeholders are unable to obtain the much-desired permanent observer status on the council, another option recently made itself available. Last week, Iceland’s President Olafur Grimsson launched the Arctic Circle, a new Arctic forum. In addition to Arctic states, Grimsson said the group intends to involve non-Arctic states who will feel the

Chamber News Briefs 2 consequences of the environmental changes in the Arctic, such as rising sea levels. From Google and Greenpeace to China and India, Grimsson said the group will work on an “open tent” philosophy, bringing together as many Arctic and international partners as possible. The group will hold its first meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland this October. While the Arctic Circle is not intended to replace the Arctic Council, which is the only group that has a say in creating policy for the region, the groups are likely to step on each other’s shoes. But Aglukkaq said she does not see the Arctic Circle as competition, adding that she would be happy to review their plans. “There’s always new groups establishing themselves, and there’s no harm in that. If there’s an opportunity for different countries to learn about the Arctic, then so be it.”

NWT NEWS

North Slave Métis denied land claim Feds say North Slave Métis Alliance not ‘distinct, rights-holding’ Aboriginal government Northern Journal - April 22, 2013 Meagan Wohlberg The North Slave Métis Alliance (NSMA) has been told once again it has no right to establish a land claim or have access to caribou harvesting rights and devolution money because its members are not a distinct Aboriginal group indigenous to the region, according to federal documents obtained by the Northern Journal. NSMA president Bill Enge was told by the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC) in February that the Métis organization north of Great Slave Lake “has not provided sufficient evidence to establish the existence of an ancestrally-based, present-day Métis community in the North Slave area with links to a historic Métis community in that area.” “The NSMA have not established a credible claim to s.35 Métis rights which would support recognition of the NSMA as a distinct s.35 Métis rights-holding community,” the letter to Enge states. Enge said he has no idea why their evidence has been rejected. “I provided to Canada through Aboriginal Affairs a binder that contained my genealogy connecting me to the North Slave area and the Great Slave Lake area, plus historical documents showing use prior to effective European control being established in this area,” he told The Journal. “We requested a meeting with AANDC officials involved with the review of the documents so we could hear first-hand from the reviewers how they arrived at their conclusion. Show us where the gaps are in the information provided…We have a right to secure and fill in the gaps so a clear picture can emerge,” he said. That meeting has yet to take place, but AANDC officials told The Journal it is in the process of being scheduled. “AANDC recently completed an assessment of North Slave Métis Alliance asserted s.35 rights in the North Slave, and is currently coordinating meeting dates to discuss the results of the assessment with the NSMA in the near future,” spokesperson Dawn Curtis said in an email. “Once this meeting has taken place, AANDC will be in a better position to answer some of the questions you’ve posed.”

Chamber News Briefs 3 Enge and the NSMA’s legal counsel presented their case to the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Affairs on Oct. 17 of last year looking for recognition as a distinct Aboriginal group with an indigenous territory north of Great Slave Lake. At the meeting, Enge argued that over 50 of the NSMA’s 500 members, including himself, trace their ancestry back to “the founding father of the Métis of the Great Slave Lake area,” Francois Beaulieu. Those “Métis of the Great Slave Lake area” include both Métis on the south and north sides of the lake, Enge said – one group that has divided itself in recent years into two contemporary organizations, the NWT Métis Nation (NWTMN) and the NSMA. Enge said it is unfair that the federal government has engaged the NWTMN – formerly the South Slave Métis Tribal Council – in a land claims process while leaving out the NSMA. “The common law supports that two groups representing one larger ethnic community is acceptable,” he told the senate committee. “The problem is that NSMA cannot get the Crown, neither federal nor territorial, to engage with us. Canada and the government of the have chosen to engage with the Northwest Territories Métis Nation, our cousins to the south, but not with us. The South Slave Métis Tribal Council, as it was known when it was originally formed, and the North Slave Métis Alliance both became legal entities around the same time. We have never been told why the Crown engaged with them and not us. This situation is extremely frustrating.” Enge told the senate committee chair, Gerry St. Germain, that the NWTMN agreement doesn’t apply to Métis living in Yellowknife. “It specifies which communities this land and negotiation agreement applies to. In that context it is Fort Smith, Hay River and Fort Resolution, to the exclusion of Yellowknife. We had no choice but to form an organization to assert our own rights because we were not included as a community under the auspices of that claim,” he said. “First, we are a separate community north of the lake, therefore we see ourselves as a separate entity geographically…and second, we were not a part of their land and resources negotiation or agreement.” According to the NWTMN, many members of the NSMA are eligible to be beneficiaries under the South Slave claim – which is still under negotiation – based on genealogy that connects them to the communities of Fort Resolution, Fort Smith or Hay River, even if they live in Yellowknife. While Yellowknife does not exist as a “community” within the NWTMN claim, a Yellowknife affiliate of the NWTMN – the North Arm Métis Council – is entirely composed of indigenous Métis members originally from the South Slave communities who are legitimate members of the NWTMN and included as beneficiaries of the NWTMN lands and resources agreement. Those eligible to join the NWTMN include Enge himself, who according to family records obtained by The Journal is a descendant of Pierre Mercredi, with familial ties to Fort Smith and Fort Resolution in the NWT. Not the first rejection This is not the first time the NSMA has been told by Ottawa that it can’t start a land claims process in the North Slave. Following the formation of the group in 1996, then-minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Ronald Irwin instructed the NSMA to join either the South Slave Métis (NWTMN) claims process or the Tlicho (Dogrib) negotiations. “With respect to the Métis in the Yellowknife area who are not eligible for a comprehensive land claim or a treaty entitlement process, those who are indigenous to the South Slave region should

Chamber News Briefs 4 participate in the South Slave Métis Tribal Council process. For any other eligible persons, a separate Métis process in the North Slave region will not take place,” Irwin said. “The interests of the Métis of Dogrib descent…should properly be addressed within the Dogrib comprehensive land claim and self government negotiations,” he added. Despite Irwin’s instructions, the NSMA went ahead with a second attempt following both a restructuring of its own executive – after ousting its first president, Clem Paul, from the position – and the appointment of a new federal minister. Like Irwin, his successor Jane Stewart said in 1999, “There will not be a separate, ‘Métis-only,’ land claim process in the North Slave region.” Enge said 90 per cent of the NSMA membership are eligible to be part of either the Tlicho, Sahtu or NWTMN land and resource agreements, but deserve to have their own claim in their own region. “Why are we being treated differently in the North Slave area than our other Métis counterparts? We believe AANDC is treating us with a double standard,” Enge told The Journal. “At the end of the day, in the name of equality, fairness and what’s right, the North Slave Métis people have the right to choose where they want to assert their rights in the NWT.” NSMA formed to start claims process The NSMA was formed in 1996 with the intention of realizing a land claim and self-government agreement for its beneficiaries. For the first two years, the organization was beset with infighting among members, with an eventual court case removing Paul from the executive and allowing Enge to step up into the position with Sholto Douglas as vice president. During the first tumultuous years, which saw a proliferation of overlapping and conflicting Métis organizations pop up in Yellowknife, entire families left the NSMA’s membership, many to join the South Slave negotiations or Tlicho claim, as instructed by Irwin. Years later in 2004, Enge and Douglas tried vigorously to have the North Slave Métis claim attached to the Tlicho claims process, but were unsuccessful. Court cases ongoing On Mar. 5, the NSMA launched a judicial review application against the federal government over its lack of inclusion in the NWT devolution agreement-in-principle (AiP) – three weeks after receiving the letter from AANDC. A draft agreement of the AiP was signed a week later following the completion of negotiations with Canada on Mar. 11. Though the NSMA was originally included in devolution discussions in 2002 as part of the Aboriginal Summit – a coalition that had active participation from all NWT Aboriginal governments, except the Dehcho First Nations – its invitation to sit at the table was eventually rescinded. “Before disbanding, the Aboriginal Summit itself changed its membership rules so as to include only those Aboriginal governments recognized by the government of Canada as a distinct people with resolved or unresolved claims,” officials at the NWT devolution office told The Journal in an email. “This disqualified the NSMA from membership in the Aboriginal Summit. After the Aboriginal Summit disbanded in 2005, the recognized governments that had been a part of the Aboriginal Summit participated in devolution negotiations independently.”

Chamber News Briefs 5 But in late March, Enge said NSMA received a letter from both the GNWT and the federal government setting up a meeting to consult with the North Slave Métis on devolution. That meeting is to take place on Apr. 24. He said it’s confusing that his group is now being sought for consultation as an Aboriginal government when just weeks earlier it was told it does not have constitutionally guaranteed Aboriginal rights. “We’re still trying to clarify from them what rationale there is for consulting with us in light of the fact that they said we don’t have section 35 rights,” he said. “We’re a little mystified as to what kind of consultation the Crown has in mind.” The NSMA also has an ongoing court case against the territorial government over its exclusion from the groups allowed to hunt Bathurst caribou, for which there remain hunting restrictions. The Métis were left out of last year’s limited harvest, which was opened only to Tlicho and Yellowknives hunters. Enge argued before the NWT Supreme Court last July that the NSMA should have been consulted on the caribou hunting issue based on their Aboriginal rights. Justice Shannon Smallwood has yet to make a ruling on the case. Both the federal and territorial governments declined comment on both cases because they are before the courts. Enge said the NSMA will continue to go through the legal process if that’s the only route available to them to be recognized as a distinct Aboriginal group. “We’re not going to go away. We’re going to assert our rights, and it’s unfortunate that our rights are being determined through the court systems now,” he said.

MP releases report on Northern impacts of Bill C-45 Northern Journal - April 22, 2013 Meagan Wohlberg Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington released his own report on the Northern impacts of omnibus Bill C- 45 on Monday, hoping the information on the huge piece of legislation will educate not only residents and First Nations, but the territorial government. The 35-page report, done with Lutra and Associates out of Yellowknife, outlines the implications for democracy, Aboriginal people and communities, changes to environmental protection, impacts on social security, labour rights and jobs, and ways Northerners can take action. “The end result of all the changes is something we need to take heed of, especially with the environment,” Bevington told The Journal. “It’s really unfortunate how the government of the Northwest Territories hasn’t taken the time to do their own public analysis of the changes, especially at a time of devolution where we’re taking on responsibility for environment and environmental assessment in a bigger way. We need to know what we need to do in our own territorial government to replace some of the pieces that are now missing.” The report encourages Northerners to press the territorial government to take action on filling in missing pieces of legislation to ensure the pending devolution agreement, transboundary water agreement with Alberta, and proposed amendments to the NWT’s mining regime honour treaty and Aboriginal rights and protect the environment. “With dialogue and engagement of Northerners, some of what has been lost might be regained or remade through our own public and Aboriginal governments,” the report states.

Chamber News Briefs 6 Bevington said First Nations, especially, will have an important role in defending the environment and should be supported. “I think First Nations are going to be required to stand up for their rights, and I think we can all benefit if they do that. Anyone who wants to protect the environment knows that if First Nations stand up for their rights on the environment, that generally means they’ll be protecting them,” Bevington said. Monday’s report follows one the MP’s office did last year reporting the effects of the Conservatives’ first omnibus bill, C-38, which made changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Fisheries Act, among others. He said the two bills need to be understood together. “In many ways, there’s similar themes that are in this report that are in the C-38 report: the curtailing of public information, the impacts on Aboriginal peoples, the changes to the basic social security net – EI and pensions,” Bevington said. He said the amendments make up the pieces of a puzzle that, when looked at together, show a complete overhaul of the environmental regulatory regime. “What I would say is this analysis shows how all those things make a difference, and that’s what I think we want people to understand,” Bevington said. “When you look at one thing in isolation, it doesn’t look like much. When you look at all the steps that have been taken together, you’ve got a serious problem.” To read the report online, visit Bevington’s website at www.dennisbevington.ca.

Northern NDP MP tables private member’s bill on waterway protection Bill includes Nunavut’s Soper, Kazan, Thelon rivers Nunatsiaq News - April 23, 2013 In a move aimed at embarrassing the Conservative government over non-budget provisions included last year in Bill C-45, its massive omnibus bill, Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington has tabled a private member’s bill aimed at extending protection to heritage rivers in the three northern territories. The omnibus bill, which passed the House of Commons and Senate prior to the end of 2012, contained amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that critics say will weaken protections for lakes and rivers across the country. To that end, opposition MPs have tabled a series of private member’s bills aimed at adding various waterways to the list of protected lakes and rivers listed under the act. Bevington’s bill, tabled April 19, would list a series of heritage rivers in the three northern territories: the Alsek, Laird, Kazan, Soper, Nahanni, Thelon, Bonnet Plume and Tatshenshini rivers. The flows through Kattanalik territorial park between Iqaluit and , and the Kazan and Thelon rivers flow through the of Nunavut. The NDP charges that the government’s amendments leave only two per cent of Canada’s rivers and lakes on the list of protected waterways. “The Conservatives are systematically dismantling environmental protection for northern waterways,” Bevington alleged April 23 in a press release. “They’re passing laws that could destroy some of our country’s most pristine lakes and rivers – all for the benefit of their insider friends, pushing forward unbridled and unregulated development,” he said. Most private member’s bills have little chance of getting passed in the House of Commons, but are often used to score political points.

Chamber News Briefs 7 Giant Mine costs explained Yellowknifer – April 24, 2013 $903 million price tag for managing arsenic expected to rise in future Laura Busch The estimated cost for cleaning up Giant Mine is currently $903 million - a cost that is likely to increase in the future - an Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada spokesperson has confirmed. "As of today, that is our estimate," Joanna Ankersmit, director of the department's Northern contaminated sites program, told Yellowknifer on Friday. This figure had been widely reported since the results of an access-to-information request was made public by Yellowknife-based public policy group Alternatives North more than three weeks ago. Kevin O'Reilly, spokesperson for the grassroots organization, said the document obtained through the request, which was dated Sept. 1, 2012, shows the federal department knew the overall costs had ballooned and covered this up during public hearings for the project's environmental assessment last September. The document also shows the $903-million figure was approved by the National Treasury Board in March 2012, six months before the federal government presented its $449-million cost estimate to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board during the public hearings. "If we hadn't filed that access-to-information request and we hadn't made that publicly available to people, we still wouldn't know what the cost of the total remediation for the site would be," said O'Reilly. "There has obviously been a failure to communicate clearly and consistently and accurately. This is only one small example of the ongoing miscommunications, a lack of effort to truly engage and involve the community in the development of the remediation plan, let alone carrying it out." However, Ankersmit denies she or anyone else in her department hid the true costs of the cleanup. "In no way are we in any way trying to keep things hidden from the public," she said. "The numbers have been released at various times if people have asked for them. ... It's an order of magnitude number so every time that it changes slightly, that isn't something that we would feel the need to come out with." A project of such a large scale can be expected to change over the years and this likely isn't the last time the price tag for cleaning up Giant Mine will be adjusted, she added. "We're committed to making sure that Parliament and are kept aware of that," she said. The $449-million figure is the estimated cost to complete the remediation plan once the project is given the go-ahead by the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board and obtains the necessary water licences, which Ankersmit expects could take two years in a best-case scenario. However, the department is currently budgeting for maintaining the site for five more years before the final clean-up plan can be implemented. O'Reilly said it was Ottawa that caused the environmental assessment process to drag on by not providing information to the board in a timely manner. In the five years the project has been before the review board, Alternatives North has calculated that two years have been spent waiting for responses and information from the federal department, he said. From the 2012/13 fiscal year to the date of implementation, the federal government is expecting to spend $260 million. Included in that cost is demolishing the roaster complex and stabilizing underground chambers, which are two projects the federal government applied to the review board in December for special permission to move forward with, citing "the potentially catastrophic consequences of a collapse of any portion of the roaster complex or the underground workings of the mine." "The site, as you know, has been deteriorating over time and so we have to manage parallel processes - we have real risks before us that need to be managed," said Ankersmit.

Chamber News Briefs 8 "And so, we're moving ahead some items because it's important to implement that work sooner rather than later to keep up with the protection of human health and safety as well as the environment." From the time the feds took over the Giant Mine site in 1999 to April 31, 2012, $160 million in taxpayer money has been spent on maintaining the site, including pumping and treating arsenic-laden water, said Ankersmit. Also $25 million to $30 million has been spent on a freeze optimization study in recent years, and the hope is that study will allow the department to save money on freezing the 14 underground chambers at Giant Mine filled with 237,000 tonnes of arsenic dust. "It's a very expensive site to keep safe," said Ankersmit. The department did not expect such a lengthy regulatory process before the remediation plan could be implemented, she said. The department has spent "a significant amount of effort" responding to about 400 information requests during the regulatory process. The federal government is expecting to pay $34 million in GST, bringing the total estimated cost to $903 million. Canadian taxpayers can expect this number to change by the time cleanup is completed, said Ankersmit. "In a complex project like the Giant Mine, its duration is a couple of decades. It's a site that will have ongoing costs, as far as we know, in perpetuity. So, you can imagine that there is some difficulty in terms of putting a strict number on what that's going to cost," she said. Currently, it costs about $10 million per year to maintain the site, and once cleanup is complete the arsenic must remain frozen in perpetuity, which is expected to cost about $1.9 million per year to maintain in today's dollars. Current cost estimates for Giant mine cleanup $903 million: Total expected cost. $160 million: Federal funds spent up to March 31, 2012. $260 million: Ongoing costs between April 1, 2012, and implementation of the remediation plan (budgeted for five years). Includes cost of eight contracts expected to be awarded this year (including roaster deconstruction awarded to Parsons Canada Ltd. on March 12 - $25.7 million; care and maintenance contract to Nuna Logistics and the Det'on Cho Corporation on March 15 - $9.7 million; construction management contract to Clark Holdings on Feb. 6 - $7.7 million). $449 million: Estimated cost for implementing the remediation plan (includes $148.16 million for freezing systems; $52.78 million for tailings and sludge ponds; and $18.13 million for re-routing Baker Creek). $34 million: Government sales tax Source: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, public documents for Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board environmental assessment on Giant Mine Remediation Project.

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENERGY NEWS

Ice roads, airships could work together Free Press – April 22, 2013 Barry Prentice

Chamber News Briefs 9 A proposal to build an ice road from Churchill to , Nunavut, has been presented with the endorsement of both federal and provincial politicians (Nunavut link down the road? March 23). Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation Minister, Steve Ashton, is quoted as recommending seasonal roads: "They are dollar for dollar one of the most cost-effective transportation initiatives you can bring into place." He might be right, but under what conditions and compared with what means of transport? The Nunavut ice road provides a case for comparison with one of the several cargo carrying airships that are being proposed. In prior assessments of cargo airships and ice road trucking, this author excluded the costs of building and maintaining the seasonal infrastructure. Provincial bureaucrats advised that even if no trucks were used to carry goods to the remote communities, ice roads would still be built because of social issues. First Nations residents look forward each year to this brief period when they can visit friends and relatives in the otherwise remote communities. Consequently, airship cost comparisons were limited to the direct costs of ice road trucks. In the case of building a new ice road connection between Manitoba and Nunavut, the "social road" argument does not hold. This allows the total cost of the 650-kilometre ice road for freight to be compared to a 463-kilometre flight for a cargo airship service. The economic model for this analysis is set out in a forthcoming paper that compares the costs of airships and gravel roads. Key variables in the model are adjusted to reflect the lower construction costs of ice roads and the higher freight rates charged by ice road truckers. The airship used in the model is the VariaLift ARH-50. According to data provided by the developer, this all-metal, rigid airship could fly three cycles per day between Rankin Inlet and Churchill. The annual fixed costs of $8.3 million include the aircraft lease, insurance and staff. A hangar that could handle up to 25 airships adds $3.2 million to annual fleet costs. The variable costs per trip are $7,782. The airship carries 50 tonnes and is assumed to operate 300 days per year. Freight rates on ice roads are set competitively. In 2013, ice road truck rates are about 2.5 times the rates paid for these trucks on all-weather roads. In addition, fuel surcharges could be higher on a new ice road farther north. In this model, trucks rates are $0.32 per tonne-kilometre, based on an empty return. Utilization is the key to the economics of infrastructure. The cost of the Nunavut ice road is estimated to be $25 million build, and $12 million to rebuild it every year. The average cost of the ice road is determined by dividing the total public expenditure by the number of trucks. The graph presented here shows the results of the economic model in which the ice road is assumed to operate 90 days each year. The straight line is the total cost of the ice road and trucks. The jagged line is the costs of the airships. Each "step" represents the addition of another airship to the fleet. As can be seen in this comparison, the ice road is more expensive to operate until the traffic volume averages 40 truckloads per day. The third and fourth airships continue to offer competitive rates until truck volumes exceed 88 vehicles per day; thereafter, the truck-ice road costs are less than the airship. The volumes moved by trucks in the 90 days are spread out over 300 days in the airship. More frequent delivery reduces logistics costs. Holding inventories for up to nine months can add 10 to 25 per cent to the cost of using the ice road. Seasonal roads also lead to construction delays that could be avoided with year-round airship service. Roads and airships are more complementary than competitive. Airships can fly anywhere and operate without ground infrastructure. Airships can be a pioneer mode of transport that builds the traffic to the

Chamber News Briefs 10 point where the economics favour the construction of an ice road, or at higher volumes, an all-weather road. Airships could lower the cost of building all-weather roads by relocating heavy equipment and moving bridge sections. Once the road opens, the airship can serve as a feeder system to augment the traffic on the road. No one disputes the need for better transportation linkages to the North. Public road infrastructure is expensive to build and costly to maintain. The privately owned airship is the "infrastructure." This fact alone should give governments with budget deficits cause for interest. Let's hope that cargo carrying airships are included in future transportation planning and evaluation. Barry Prentice is a professor of supply-chain management at the University of Manitoba.

MMG zinc project review on hold Nunavut News/North – April 22, 2013 Company to submit updated Izok Corridor project description Thandiwe Vela Regulatory review of international zinc producer MMG Resources Inc.'s Izok Corridor project will be on hold at least until the end of the year since the company has asked to update its project design and description. On April 16, MMG asked the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) for the opportunity to submit an updated project description that could potentially improve the economic viability of the project, before the environmental assessment process is moved ahead. The project proposal, which currently includes a base metal mining and milling project, producing mostly zinc concentrate with some copper and lead concentrates, a 350 km all-season road and port facility at Grays Bay, is still going ahead, said Sabha Safavi, Canada project manager for MMG. "We'd like to make sure that it is clear that the project is moving forward and we have not slowed down or halted in any way. What we have done is we have slowed down the process with NIRB and it is due to the fact that we are making a number of changes," Safavi said. The main project components being evaluated are the mine schedule and production rates, the execution plan and the possibility of bringing a third resource, called Hood, into production in addition to the proposed Izok and proposed High Lake mines. The average production rate of approximately two million tonnes of ore per annum could potentially be higher under the new design, Safavi said. Changes to the execution plan specifically refer to additional modulization, or increasing the amount of components that will built off site, and shipped to the Izok Corridor project. "So these are the key changes that we're looking at because these changes we see will add value to the outcome of the project," Safavi said. "And we like to do our due diligence so this is why we've slowed down the process at NIRB." The company will be conducting community consultations before striking the new project design, Safavi said. MMG originally submitted the Izok Corridor project proposal to the review board last September. The minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada approved the Australia-based company's application to proceed to a full regulatory review earlier this month. The review board has committed to awaiting the submission of an updated project description by MMG before initiating the public scoping process, stated executive director Ryan Barry in an April 18 letter responding to the company's request.

Chamber News Briefs 11 "The board acknowledges that it is in the best interest of all parties to have a sufficient level of detail regarding proposed project activities, components and development schedules prior to initiating the public scoping process and development of (environmental impact statement) guidelines for the project," stated Barry. Upon receipt of MMG's updated project description, the review board will undertake a preliminary review of the extent of the changes to the scope of the project, Barry added, and then provide an update to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

No to Back River as Canadian heritage river: Kivalliq Inuit org "It has significant economic potential" Nunatsiaq News - April 22, 2013 The Kivalliq Inuit Association has told the Government of Nunavut on two separate occasions that it doesn’t want the Back River to be nominated as a Canadian Heritage River. The KIA has spent “a considerable amount of time and financial resources studying the area and notes that it has significant economic potential,” KIA president David Ningeongan told the GN in a recent letter. Nunavut’s culture and language minister, James Arreak, said last autumn that the GN wants to see the Ukkusiksalik Kuunga, known as the Back River in English, added to the Canadian Heritage River System. MLA Moses Aupaluktuq said he welcomed the nomination as a future Canadian Heritage River for Ukkusiksalik Kuunga, which lies close to his community.. Other Canadian Heritage Rivers in Nunavut include Harvaqtuuq (), the Kanajuup Kuungat () and the Kuujjuak (Soper River.) The has also been nominated to the Canadian Heritage River System for its natural heritage, cultural heritage, and recreational values. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System was established in 1984 by federal, provincial and territorial governments “to conserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them.” Today, there are 42 Canadian Heritage Rivers (37 designated, with another five nominated) across Canada, says the Canadian Heritage Rivers System website. All protective actions on Canadian Heritage Rivers respect the rights of aboriginal peoples, communities, private landowners, and other stakeholders, it says. And governments retain their jurisdictional powers and management responsibilities throughout the nomination and designation process.

Avalon completes feasibility study 'Major milestone' in development of Nechalacho rare metals project Yellowknifer – April 24, 2013 Thandiwe Vela The rare metals exploration company proposing to develop a mine southeast of Yellowknife has reached a major milestone for the project. Avalon Rare Metals Inc. announced April 17 the completion of the feasibility study for its flagship Nechalacho Project at Thor Lake.

Chamber News Briefs 12 "It's a major milestone for us in the development of this project. It's taken a long time, several years and a $60 million dollar investment to take it to this level of study and obviously we're really pleased to see that it's produced a very positive result," said Don Bubar, president and CEO of Avalon. "It was really important to get it concluded so we could demonstrate at this level of detail with operating costs and revenues, that this is an economically viable development opportunity in the rare earths world." According to the feasibility study prepared by SNC-Lavalin Inc., more than $1 billion of the $1.575 billion in construction capital costs for Nechalacho will be incurred in the NWT. Despite the high capital cost to ultimately build the mine, Bubar described the feasibility study as "robust" due to the measure of profitability determined in the study, which estimates a rate of return of more than 20 per cent. Revenue for the project was estimated at $645.8 million per year, from the sale of mostly separated heavy rare earth elements, and enriched zirconium concentrate. With the feasibility study in hand, the company can now accelerate talks with rare earth consumers around the world to secure commitments on future product sales and attracting financial partners to participate in the further development of the project, Bubar said. "In fact the consumers around the world that we've been talking to and in some cases signed (memorandums of understanding) with have told us that they're interested in working with us but they really want to see the feasibility study concluded and the results of that to be confident that there's indeed a viable development opportunity before they'll get a little bit more serious about looking into the business opportunity," Bubar said. "So they've been waiting for this and now we got it out so that allows us to start more serious discussions with those parties." The completion of the study puts Nechalacho -- which has a deposit particularly rich in the heavy rare earth elements used in green energy technology and other high-tech applications -- in the lead among rare earth projects outside China, which is currently the source of upwards of 95 per cent of the world's supply of heavy rare earth metals. In addition to wrapping up the environmental assessment process for Nechalacho, Avalon is now looking to put financing in place for further development of the project. Shares of Toronto-based Avalon Rare Metals Inc. closed at $0.95 on Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down $0.02.

Peregine wraps up bulk sampling at Nunavut diamond property But company won't process the samples until De Beers decides if it's in or out Nunatsiaq News - April 23, 2013 Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. reported April 23 that a bulk sample weighing approximately 508 tonnes was collected from the CH-6 kimberlite on the company’s Chidliak project, 120 kilometres from Iqaluit. The Vancouver-based diamond exploration company runs the 858,000-hectare Chidliak project, which includes 61 kimberlite deposits, which typically contain diamonds. One deposit in particular, the CH-6 kimberlite, has a grade of 2.84 carats of diamonds per tonne of kimberlite rock. Peregrine formed a partnership with De Beers Canada Ltd. in September 2012 to help finance the Chidliak project and share developmental risks. According to their agreement, De Beers holds an option to enter into a joint venture with Peregrine that would give De Beers majority ownership of the Chidliak property.

Chamber News Briefs 13 But the company said April 23 that it doesn’t plan to do anything with the samples until De Beers gives Peregrine binding notice of its decision regarding De Beer’s right to enter into an earn-in and joint venture agreement for Chidliak or that right expires. To date, about 325 tonnes of the 508-tonne bulk sample from the CH-6 kimberlite have been transported to Iqaluit where the sample remain in storage until the summer when it will be transported to Montreal on the sealift, Peregrine said in its April 23 news release. The sample is currently scheduled to be processed by the Research Council in Saskatoon by the last quarter or 2013. But Peregrine says it won’t start processing of the bulk sample until its relationship with DeBeers is clear. Peregrine’s plans to use the diamond grade and value information from the bulk sample and information acquired from core drill programs conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to develop a preliminary revenue model and establish an initial resource for the diamond-rich kimberlite. This work will serve “as a foundation for future independent resource calculations” and, with the mining study being completed by De Beers, lead to a preliminary economic assessment for CH-6 in the first half of 2014. A 14-tonne mini-bulk sample collected from CH-6 returned a grade of 2.84 carats per tonne. “If that grade is confirmed with further testing, CH-6 would be one of the highest grade kimberlite pipes in the world,” Peregrine said.

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