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Mary River Project Pre-Hearing Conference Presentation. Igloolik, and Pond Inlet, Nunavut November 6-7 and 9-10, 2011. Outline. Mandate & role Technical Review Recommendations Earth sciences Questions. NRCan’s Mandate.
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Mary River ProjectPre-Hearing Conference Presentation Igloolik, and Pond Inlet, Nunavut November 6-7 and 9-10, 2011
Outline • Mandate & role • Technical Review Recommendations • Earth sciences • Questions
NRCan’s Mandate Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) seeks to enhance the responsible development and use of Canada’s natural resources and the competitiveness of Canada’s natural resources products.
NRCan’s Role in this review • Regulatory role – Explosives Act • Earth sciences expertise: • Permafrost and Geotechnical Science • Coastal Geomorphology, Climate Change • Geotechnical Engineering and Natural Hazards
Technical Review Recommendations - Permafrost and Geotechnical Science • NRCan provided 12 recommendations regarding: • Maintaining waste rock pile frozen conditions • Modelling to ensure a permafrost barrier the diversion berms • Railway terrain analyses • Environmental monitoring and management methods for the railway corridor
Technical Review Recommendations - Coastal Geomorphology • NRCan provided 27 recommendations regarding: • Coastal change due to ship wake • Climate change impacts on coastal infrastructure • Slope and permafrost information for Milne port and subsea permafrost presence at Steensby port • Shoreline change information regarding the Milne Port freight dock effects on Philips Creek spit
Technical Review Recommendations - Geotechnical Engineering and Natural Hazards • NRCan provided 7 recommendations regarding • Waste rock pile – sludge volume, stability, post-closure monitoring • Railway tunnel early warning systems during rockfall events • Spill contingency plans for borrow pits
Baffinland Iron Mine Corporation (BIMC) Commitments • BIMC’s commitments (October 28, revised November 4) address 28 of NRCan’s 46 recommendations • NRCan and BIM met on Oct. 20, 2011 to discuss specific recommendations related to primarily to wake effects and sediment movement at Milne Port
NRCan Outstanding Recommendations • NRCan would like to clarify certain BIMC commitments made during the technical meetings, e.g., • Ship wake assessment • Hydrodynamic and sediment transport models • NRCan can continue to work with BIMC to discuss and resolve technical issues identified in commitments, e.g.: • Permafrost and the design approach for the waste rock pile • Remote sensing of bottom-fast ice • Existence of subsea permafrost • Estimates of sea level rise