NORONT RESOURCES LTD. EAGLE’S NEST PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ I TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................... i 1 – INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 PROJECT COMPONENTS .................................................................................................. 3 1.2.4 Project Schedule and Phases .................................................................................. 4 2 – APPROACH .................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 GENERAL ............................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 APPLICABLE GUIDANCE .................................................................................................... 8 2.3 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 8 2.3.1 Assessment framework ............................................................................................ 8 2.3.2 Identification of other Actions That May Affect the Same VEC ............................... 9 2.3.3 Interaction with other Projects and Activities ......................................................... 11 3 – SCOPE 13 3.1 IDENTIFIED VECS ............................................................................................................. 13 3.2 SPATIAL BOUNDARIES .................................................................................................... 13 3.3 TEMPORAL BOUNDARIES ............................................................................................... 13 3.4 OTHER PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OF CONSIDERATION ......................................... 19 3.6.1 Summary of Cumulative Effects VECS .................................................................. 26 4 – ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS ...................................................................................................... 32 5 – SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................ 35 6 – REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 36 7 – CERTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................... 37 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT i of iii NB102-390/1-35 Rev A December 20, 2013 NORONT RESOURCES LTD. EAGLE’S NEST PROJECT TABLES Table 2.1 Example Cumulative Effects Interaction Matrix ............................................................ 12 Table 3.1 Summary of Residual Effects ....................................................................................... 14 Table 3.2 Summary of Other Projects and Activities .................................................................... 21 Table 3.3 Interactions Matrix ........................................................................................................ 25 Table 3.4 Potential Cumulative Effects ........................................................................................ 27 FIGURES Figure 1.1 Location of Project Activities .......................................................................................... 2 Figure 1.2 Mine Site Development Area .......................................................................................... 5 Figure 1.3 Transportation Corridor .................................................................................................. 6 Figure 1.4 Trans-Load Facility ......................................................................................................... 7 Figure 2.1 Cumulative Effects Assessment Framework ................................................................ 10 Figure 3.1 Cumulative Effects Study Area ..................................................................................... 18 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT ii of iii NB102-390/1-35 Rev A December 20, 2013 NORONT RESOURCES LTD. EAGLE’S NEST PROJECT ABBREVIATIONS *** Project ............................................................................................... the Eagle’s Nest project CEA ........................................................................................... Cumulative Effects Assessment CEAA ........................................................................ Canadian Environmental Assessment Act CEA Agency ....................................................... Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency EA ..................................................................................................... environmental assessment EIS ............................................................................................ environmental impact statement FMU ..................................................................................................... Forest Management Unit Noront ...................................................................................................... Noront Resources Ltd. VEC .............................................................................................. valued ecosystem component CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT iii of iii NB102-390/1-35 Rev A December 20, 2013 NORONT RESOURCES LTD. EAGLE’S NEST PROJECT 1 – INTRODUCTION This cumulative effects assessment (CEA) has been developed as a stand-alone document to support the environmental impact statement/environment assessment report (EIS/EA report) for Noront Resources Ltd.’s (Noront’s) Eagle’s Nest Project (the Project). The report has been prepared to fulfill the assessment requirements outlined in the Project’s Draft Terms of Reference (Draft ToR) prepared by Noront (Knight Piésold, 2012). This report also addresses the aquatic assessment requirements outlined in the Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines (EIS Guidelines; CEA Agency, 2012) and the Addendum to the EIS Guidelines (CEA Agency, 2013) prepared for the Project by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEA Agency). 1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW The Eagle’s Nest Project is a proposed nickel, copper and platinum group deposit in the Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario (52˚ 44’ 29” N latitude and 86˚ 17’ 45” W longitude; Figure 1.1). The Project proponent is Noront, a Canadian mining company focused on mineral development in the Ring of Fire. Eagle's Nest deposit is a vertically-oriented ore body containing mineable quantities of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), and palladium (Pd). The deposit contains approximately 11.1 million tonnes (Mt) of proven and probable reserves and nearly 9 Mt of inferred resources. The Project involves the construction, operation and closure of a proposed underground mine, processing facility and associated ore transportation and handling infrastructure. Based on the current Proven and Probable ore reserves, the proposed mine and associated infrastructure will operate for 11 years at an ore production rate of 2,960 tonnes per day (t/d). The processing facilities at the mine will produce a nickel-copper-platinum-palladium concentrate at a rate of 420 t/d. Tailings from the processing will be stored underground as cemented and un-cemented paste backfill. The concentrate will be transported by truck from the mine site to a rail transfer facility (trans-load facility) located near the community of Savant Lake, a distance of approximately 550 km. At the trans-load facility, the ore will be offloaded from the trucks and loaded onto rail cars for shipment to existing smelting/processing facilities located in eastern Canada via the existing Canadian National Railway (CNR). In addition to the 2,960 t/d of ore, the mine will produce 1,349 t/d of aggregate which will be used for mine site road construction and maintenance, as well as other infrastructure. The Project includes the following components (Figure 1.1): • A mine site • A transportation corridor • A trans-load facility CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ASSESSMENT 1 of 37 NB102-390/1-35 Rev A December 20, 2013 PEAWANUK FIRST NATION -400 249,600 499,600 749,600 999,600 > WEENUSK 6,000,000 "N SACHIGO LAKE FIRST NATION FIRST NATION ò BEARSKIN LAKE FIRST NATION KITCHENUHMAYKOOSIB FIRST NATION WAPEKEKA FIRST NATION KASABONIKA MUSKRAT DAM FIRST NATION FIRST NATION WAWAKAPEWIN FIRST NATION KEY-WAY-WIN FIRST NATION KINGFISHER NORTH CARIBOU LAKE ATTAWAPISKAT FIRST NATION VICTOR FIRST NATION WEBEQUIE FIRST NATION FIRST NATION DIAMOND MINE WUNNUMIN LAKE MUSSELWHITE FIRST NATION NIBINAMIK GOLD MINE FIRST NATION ^_ MINE SITE KASHECHEWAN FIRST NATION FORT ALBANY NESKANTAGA (LANSDOWNE HOUSE) FIRST NATION FIRST NATION 5,750,000 CAT LAKE FIRST NATION MARTEN FALLS Pickle Lake EABAMETOONG (FORT HOPE) FIRST NATION FIRST NATION Moosonee MOOSE CREE Red Lake SLATE FALLS MISHKEEGOGAMANG FIRST NATION FIRST NATION FIRST NATION HWY UV599 ONTARIO OJIBWAY NATION ENGLISH RIVER OF SAUGEEN FIRST NATION LAC SEUL FIRST NATION Savant Lake AROLAND FIRST NATION Sioux Lookout^_ Nakina TRANS-LOAD FACILITY GULL RIVER LONG LAKE #58 FIRST NATION CONSTANCE