Timmins Local Citizens Committee

Minutes of November 24, 2010

November 24, 2010

LCC hours: 52 hours

Year to Date: 174

Total: 6013.4

Date: November 24, 2010

Location: Ontario Government Complex, Fire Boardroom

Present: Robert Calhoun, Ron Johnson, Stefanie Thibeault, Bill Russell, Andy Chartrand, Kees Stryland, Mark Joron, Scott Tam, Jenny Millson, Kees Pols, Bob Bielek, Barry Edwards

Regrets: Rusty Fink, Dave Stringer, Marc Lapalme, Gilbert Fortin, Allan Moyle, James Naveau, Gail Krawchuk, Lino Morandin

Absent: George Sackenay, Rodney Wincikaby

MNR: Glen McFarlane, Nikki Wood, Mac Kilgour, Justin Standeven, Derrick Romain

Guests: Terry Ternes, Environmental Coordinator, Lakeshore Gold Corp., Igor Mychalczsyn, member of the public

Call to Order:

Bill Russell called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.

Summary of Action Items for This Meeting:

Action Item 11-10-01: Glen will contact Kirkland Lake MNR and will ask them to provide the Timmins LCC with any additional information they can share regarding the Perry Lake issue with the cottage Association.

Action Item 11-10-02: Glen to discuss the scheduling of the Timmins LCC meetings back to its original time of second Wednesday of each month with the District Manager

Review and Approval of September 29, 2010 Minutes:

• Motion to accept- Kees Pols
• Seconded by- Barry Edwards
• All in favour

Review and Approval of tonight’s agenda:

§ Mark Joron asked for some time in the agenda to include a Naturalist project update

§ Motion to accept- Kees Stryland

• Seconded by- Robert Calhoun
• Carried

Letters/Correspondence

• A letter was received regarding an aggregate amendment to include a new gravel extraction area on the Abitibi River Forest. This was an existing pit that was not included in the Forest Management Plan. An administrative amendment would be sufficient for including this pit.

Motion to accept as administrative- Bob Bielek

Seconded by-Mark Joron

All in favour-carried

• The LCC savings account has now been closed. A remainder of $17.34 was handed back to the MNR.

District Manager Update- Glen McFarlane for Randy Pickering

Glen provided the Timmins LCC members with the following update:

· Nikki Wood is presently working on an acting assignment at the Region as a Forest Management Specialist until the end of December.

Question: In light of the newspaper articles regarding the issue around Perry lake with the cottagers association and the forest management plan, can we get more information on this subject.

Answer: Yes, I will contact Kirkland Lake MNR and provide you with any information they can share.

Action Item 11-10-01: Glen will contact Kirkland Lake MNR and will ask them to provide the Timmins LCC with any additional information they can share regarding the Perry Lake issue with the cottage Association.

Question: We need to discuss the road access issue that is concerning recreationalists in the Chapleau district. Why is the MNR cutting down trees to block the access on roads and trails in that area.

Answer: We don’t have specific information to share with you regarding this issue, but we can provide you with information later tonight on land use planning that may give you a better understanding of how land use planning decisions are derived and made.

Question: Why were there such fluctuations in water levels in the district last year.

Answer: We did witness lower than average amounts of precipitation this past spring and summer; this was evident in local creeks, rivers and swamps. Lake levels managed by dams must operate according to water management plans. Specific water levels and flows at these dams, especially in the spring, must be met to accommodate for fish spawning etc. The spring levels depend on melt waters from freshet and spring rains to build up water levels. Both events were minimised leaving the waters below normal levels for the summer.

An Introduction to Lakeshore Gold with an Environmental Perspective- Terry Ternes

Terry provided the Timmins LCC members with a presentation on Lakeshore Gold. He provided the following information (presentation attached):

• Lakeshore Gold employs approximately 400 people
• Bell Creek mill operates at about 2000 tons per day and is a crucial component of the company’s transition into a mine
• Timmins mine located west of Timmins has a defined gold reserve of 812,000 ounces with more potential reserves still not fully defined.
• Ore from this mine is being transported to the Bell creek facility
• The target of operation production at this mine will be at 1500 tonnes per day
• For the description of the Timmins mine, please refer to the attached schematic in the slide presentation.
• Environmental Baseline studies have been carried out in preparation for safe management of this mine. They include:

§ The assessment of ARD and metal leaching potential of rock core samples

§ Baseline terrestrial biological studies

§ Baseline aquatic biological studies

§ Stage 1 archaeological and Cultural heritage resource assessment

§ Geochemical characterization of waste rock

§ Tatachikapika River low flow analysis

§ Cultural values study

§ Baseline hydro-geological assessment

§ Geotechnical assessment of underground workings for advanced exploration

§ Lake sturgeon spring spawning survey on the Tat River

o Permits that have been acquired include:

· Industrial sewage and mining discharge; an effluent discharge facility and a sewage disposal system are in place.

· The effluent treatment plant is restricted to 480 m3/day and must meet quality discharge thresholds for zinc, copper, ammonia and total suspended solids

· The mine discharges at most, 0.2% of the flow of the Tatachikapika River.

· Permit to take water allows for dewatering of the mine up to 4,100m3/day

The waste rock results at the Timmins west mine show that over 80% of the rock samples have a neutralizing potential and 45% of the samples show greater than 100:1 neutralizing potential.

The Timmins west complex is building a new pond to accommodate mine water discharge. This pond will improve on the existing pond and the liner quality will be upgraded

The septic system has undergone an upgrade to accommodate up to 250 people. The sewage travels through bio-filters before being released to the natural environment. The use of quality sands and filters provides for a smaller field bed.

The Bell Creek Complex includes the Bell Creek Mine and mill.

• An advanced exploration program is underway which includes dewatering the mine, underground development, exploration drilling and new ramp construction to access the adjacent vogel and Schumacher gold mineralization.
• The list of baseline studies for this complex include annual dam inspections, Porcupine River studies, metal leaching of waste rock, archaeological studies stage 1 and 2. (see attached list on Slide presentation)
• The Bell Creek complex has undergone the furnishing of a new effluent treatment plant to provide for additional space in the pond, direct water to approved tailings area and improved discharge water into the Porcupine River
• All mines require Closure plan to operate. The existing Closure plan is being amended to include the changes made in the Bell Creek complex.
• Please refer to attached slide presentation to read the list of measures that must be heeded upon closure of the mine and mill.

Following Terry’s presentation, the LCC members asked a few questions as follows:

· Question: Does the Lakeshore west complex have a mill.

· Answer: No; presently, the ore produced at this facility is trucked to the Bell Creek Complex. Approximately 30-40 trucks transport ore daily. The company is looking into the possibility of constructing a mill at the site.

· Question: There is a concern regarding access onto the trap line in the vicinity of the mine. Will the company map out the trails that have been created by their drilling and exploration activities and provide a map of trails and drill sites to the trapper?

· Answer: The Company will work with the trapper and provide the information that the trapper is requesting.

· Question: Is water from Thunder Creek entering the mine?

· Answer: The Company had some concerns with beaver dams in the area. Work has taken place to reduce the problem.

· Question: Why are there no caps on some of the drill holes?

· Answer: There is a lengthy history of drilling in this area. This company caps all of its drill holes.

The LCC Chairman thanked Terry for his presentation.

Wintergreen/Naturalist Update- Mark Joron

Mark provided the LCC members with an update on things happening with Wintergreen projects and the Naturalist Club:

• In partnership with Domtar, cards have been produced showing pictures and descriptions of species at risk such as toads, frogs and turtles. This will assist people with identifying species if they come across them in the wild.
• Mark talked about the Timmins Honour Role of Trees and asked people to be on the look for any very large trees in the area that could be measured and catalogued.
• The Naturalists also want to produce more cards for birds, flora and animals, specifically, the Timmins orchid, and local fur bearing animals. The Porcupine Photo Club is also interested in collecting photos of local birds to produce a local bird poster.

District Land Use Guidelines/Crown Land Use Atlas

Hands On approach and use of these guidelines- Justin Standeven

Justin provided the members with a guided tour through the Crown Land Use Atlas found on the Internet on line. He explained, in detail, how to access the information on line as follows:

• Once you are on line in the Internet enter “Ontario Crown Land Use Policy Atlas”
• Once you are on site, use the map to guide you to the area that you are interested in attaining more information.
• The Crown Land Use Policy access covers a planning area from north of Hwy 6 in southern Ontario to the Far North.
• The Policy information provides specific intent and direction by area.
• Each numbered area has an associated Policy report.
• An example provided is G1828
• This area is called the Mattagami Aggregate Complex; the general area is described as having a good supply of aggregate for commercial activity. It also provides the permitted activities, additional information such as source of direction and background of this site.
• This information is a major component for the making of resource management decisions in forest management plans.

Following Justin’s presentation, there were a few questions from the members as follows:

• Question: Why is Chapleau closing and preventing access to specific areas in their district.
• Answer: If you know the area that is restricted, you can look up the area in the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas. For specific information, you’ll have to contact the Chapleau district office.
• Question: Is historical land use information for First Nation located in the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas?
• Answer: No; First Nation information is not included.
• Question: Is Crown Patent Land included in the Atlas?
• Answer: Not sure; will need to check with Lands People for that answer.

There was a round table discussion regarding remote tourism operations and trapper cabins:

• Remote tourism cabins are located on lake shores, inmost cases on designated tourism lakes and are under a form of land lease; presently, the rents per year are approximately $1000.00 per site.
• The opportunity to construct Trap cabins are provided to licenced trappers for use on their trap lines. The cabin tenure is provided to the trapper who actively traps their line. There is no cost for rent or lease while the trapper is managing their line.

The LCC Chairman thanked Justin for his presentation and discussion on Land Use Planning.

Romeo Malette Forest Update- Glen McFarlane

There was nothing new to report on the Romeo Malette Forest.

Abitibi River Forest FMP Update- Kees Stryland

Kees provided the LCC members with the following update on progress of the 2012 ARF FMP:

• The FMP task teams have been formed representing the three MNR districts and the Company staff
• Resource Stewardship Agreement discussions have started between the Company and the tourism operators
• The Woodland Caribou plan will be incorporated in this plan; Mick Gauthier, Area Biologist, Cochrane MNR has provided a “suitable habitat mosaic”.
• The Long Term Management Direction is being worked on now.

Round Table Discussions

• A concern was tabled in regards to the change in scheduling of the LCC from the second Wednesday to the last Wednesday of each month; the intent of the change was to accommodate the ability of the District Manager to attend the meetings. In light of the changes it seems that the District Manager schedule is still to busy for attending the re-scheduled meetings. If possible the members would like to bring the schedule back to the original second Wednesday of each month. Glen will take this recommendation back to the District Manager for discussion.

• Very informative meeting- excellent presentations and speakers
• Lino Morandin was thanked for allowing members of the LCC to join him in the Free to Grow helicopter flights for Tembec
• Thanks for the informative presentation on the use of the Ontario Land Use Policy Atlas
• Thanks for allowing good discussion

Action Item 11-10-02: Glen to discuss the scheduling of the Timmins LCC meetings back to its original time of second Wednesday of each month with the District Manager

Bill Russell wished everyone a happy holiday and hope to see everyone back to the table in the new-year.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm

Next Meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2011 at the Fire Boardroom of the OGC.

Please contact Gail Krawchuk at gga@ntl.sympatico.ca if you cannot attend.

Minutes typed by: Minutes approved by:

…………………… …………………………

Gail Krawchuk Bill Russell

LCC Secretary Chair