The Mines Gaspé revival project by Osisko Metals has sparked environmental concerns among Murdochville citizens, albeit relatively contained fears.
MURDOCHVILLE – The Mines Gaspé revival project by Osisko Metals has sparked environmental concerns among Murdochville citizens, albeit relatively contained fears.
This insight follows a meeting on October 5 in Murdochville between a hundred residents and the chief executive officer of Osisko Metals, Robert Wares. Osisko Metals intends to reopen the Mount Copper open-pit mine.
The primary concern raised is the management of the dewatering process, involving the drainage of a huge pond that has formed in the open pit mine since its closure in the early 1980s. Underground mining in Murdochville ceased in October 1999.
Citizens expressed worries about the environmental impact of withdrawing a significant volume of water to restart mining activities. However, Mr. Wares assures that the water is not contaminated.
“It is not. Glencore, in their environmental monitoring process, has done a lot of analyses. In our current study, we will do a specific analysis on the water in the pit from the surface to the bottom,” explains Mr. Wares.
“The goal is to dewater the pit without any impact on the York River. If it takes three years, it will take three years. The goal of the studies and the government permit is to aim for zero impact with a sufficiently low dewatering rate,” says Mr. Wares, who has no idea of the quantity of water to be released.
It is already certain that water will not be sent into the river in the spring, nor during the salmon run.
“It’s all about the details, how it will be done. This is a very large volume of water that will be dumped into a salmon river which is still fragile, with a fragile fish population. We want to be consulted in the process to respect the capacity of the river and the wildlife population to absorb this volume of water,” mentions the director of the Gaspé River Management Society, Rémi Lesmerises.
The director general carried out water tests this summer for different reasons – tests which will also serve as a witness once the dewatering process is launched.
The issue of dust was raised, but to counter this, Osisko’s management intends to build a bypass road to avoid driving in populated areas.
Discussing with the population is an important element for Osisko Metals, stresses Robert Wares.
“The venture update is part of our policy of continuous project information for the communities involved. We had constructive discussions with the Mi’gmaq community. This is something that we will maintain over the coming years,” explains Mr. Wares.
Regarding ongoing discussions with the Mi’gmaq Nation, Mr. Wares refrains from revealing too much.
“They have several specific requests. This will be disclosed when we forge an agreement with the Mi’gmaq Nation. It’s not yet public,” says the manager who is not surprised by the requests.
The royalty aspect has not been addressed with regional stakeholders.
Upcoming steps and infrastructure
The year 2024 will be important for the continuation of the project involving additional drilling, metal tests, the launch of a preliminary economic study and the first phase of environmental impact studies.
“We will also explore, with the Town of Murdochville, how Osisko can contribute to infrastructure. Rebuilding the infrastructure is essential,” says Robert Wares, who is willing to contribute to upgrading it.
“We can get leverage from governments for what we invest. For critical minerals, for example, the federal government has a $1.5 billion program for infrastructure,” he adds.
The mayor of Murdochville, Délisca Ritchie Roussy, notes that a 2014 study estimated municipal infrastructure revitalization work at $37 million.
“Today, it’s up to $52 million. We don’t have money for that. Governments won’t give us that. We ask governments for small amounts and they don’t have any,” underlines the elected official.
The Osisko chief executive officer says the mine will have a lifespan of 20 years. For the rest, the current economic context will have an impact going forward.
The mayor plans to negotiate an agreement with the mining company when the mine closes. “I will negotiate the closure. Everything will be recorded in the books. If I had known at the time everything I know today, rest assured that Noranda would not have left like that, leaving such outdated infrastructure. It’s being negotiated everywhere now,” warns Ms. Richie Roussy.
Noranda Incorporated operated the copper mines and the smelter from 1953 and their respective closures, in 1999 and 2002.
On the environmental aspect, the mayor trusts environmental studies.
“The government gives them permits on the condition that it is done well. I have no worries, because it will be done according to the rules. They will have to undergo a BAPE,” declares the elected official, referring to an environment assessment with public hearings.
The Osisko objective is still to relaunch activities around 2030. Once operational, approximately 700 jobs would be created in this once-prosperous town which had around 5,000 inhabitants in the 1970s. Today, the population hovers around 700 people.
(with the collaboration of Gilles Gagné)