Ajax Mine Project

SUMMARY OF THE REVISED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT GUIDELINES

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Document reference number: 25

for the
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
November 18 to December 18, 2014

on the
Comprehensive Study pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992

Proposed project:
Ajax Mine Project

Proponent: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.

Summary prepared by:
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry
Reference Number: 62225

Frequently Used Terms

AIR: Application Information Requirements (also known as the Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines for the federal comprehensive study by the Agency)
Agency: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Application: Application for a provincial Environmental Assessment Certificate from the EAO (also known as the Environmental Impact Statement for the federal comprehensive study by the Agency)
CEAA 2012: Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012
EA: environmental assessment
EAO: (British Columbia) Environmental Assessment Office
EIS: Environmental Impact Statement for the federal comprehensive study by the Agency (also known as the Application for the provincial environmental assessment certificate from the EAO)
EIS Guidelines: Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines for the federal comprehensive study by the Agency (also known as the Application Information Requirements for the provincial environmental assessment)
proponent: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.
Project: Ajax Mine Project
Technical Working Group: A review team comprised of representatives from federal, provincial, regional and local governments, as well as potentially affected Aboriginal groups.

Introduction

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 came into force on July 6, 2012. Since the federal environmental assessment (EA) for the Ajax Mine Project (the Project) commenced prior to July 6, 2012, the EA will continue to follow the comprehensive study requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992 (as amended in 2010), with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions of the responsible authority. The Project is also subject to review under the Environmental Assessment Act (British Columbia) and is undergoing a cooperative federal-provincial EA process.

The Application Information Requirements / Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines (EIS Guidelines) are a single document that represents federal and provincial direction regarding the studies, methods and information the proponent is required to include in the preparation of its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) issued the EIS Guidelines to the proponent on June 4, 2013 after a public comment period on the Draft EIS Guidelines from January 11 to March 12, 2012.

KGHM Ajax Mining Inc. (the proponent) announced changes to the design of the Ajax Mine Project in May 2014, and has proposed revisions to the EIS Guidelines to reflect these changes.

The Agency and the EAO are now conducting a joint public comment period on the Revised EIS Guidelines for the cooperative EA. The purpose of this summary, prepared by the Agency, is to provide Canadians with an opportunity to understand the proposed changes to the Project, and the proposed revisions to the EIS Guidelines that result from these changes.

The full Revised EIS Guidelines document and additional information on the EA of the Project are available on the Agency 's website at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca and on the EAO's website at www.eao.gov.bc.ca. The Revised EIS Guidelines can also be reviewed at the following locations:

Location Address
Kamloops Library 100 – 465 Victoria Street, Kamloops, B.C.
North Kamloops Library 693 Tranquille Road, Kamloops, B.C.
Kamloops City Hall 7 Victoria Street West, Kamloops, B.C.
Canadian Environmental Assessment
Agency (by appointment)		 Vancouver, B.C.
Call 604-666-2431 for appointment

This summary document includes an overview of:

  • Purpose of the EIS Guidelines and Revised EIS Guidelines
  • Changes to the Project
  • Proposed revisions to the EIS Guidelines resulting from changes to the Project
  • Valued Components included in the Revised EIS Guidelines
  • Next steps in the EA process

The public is invited to provide written comments between November 18 and December 18, 2014 to the Agency and the EAO:

  • Web form: http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/
  • Email: Ajax@ceaa-acee.gc.ca
  • Fax: 250-387-2208
  • Mail:
    • Kevin Inouye
      Project Manager
      Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
      701 West Georgia Street, Suite 410
      Vancouver BC V7Y 1C6

    OR

    • Scott Bailey
      Executive Project Director
      Environmental Assessment Office
      PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt
      Victoria BC V8W 9V1

    Comments received by either the Agency and the EAO will be shared with the other government, as well as with the proponent and EA Technical Working Group.

    Please keep these three questions in mind when providing written comments on the revised EIS Guidelines:

    1. With respect to the changes to the Project, do the revisions to the proposed studies, methods and information requirements described in the Revised EIS Guidelines satisfy your interests and concerns?
    2. Are there additional interests and concerns you would like to see included for study or consideration based on the changes to the mine layout and design?
    3. Are there any other environmental considerations in relation to the Project based on the changes to the mine layout and design that should be included in the Revised EIS Guidelines?

    1. Purpose of the EIS Guidelines and Revised EIS Guidelines

    What are the EIS Guidelines?

    The EIS Guidelines (also known as the Application Information Requirements, or AIR) are a set of directions and questions for which the proponent is required to provide results and answers in their future EIS document to satisfy federal and provincial EA requirements. The original EIS Guidelines for the Project, issued by the Agency and EAO in June 2013, included information requirements specific to the previous layout and design of the Ajax Mine Project.

    What are the Revised EIS Guidelines?

    Revisions to the EIS Guidelines are proposed to ensure that the information requirements for the EIS reflect the proponent's changes to the Project. The proponent proposed revisions to the EIS Guidelines with guidance from the Agency, the EAO and the EA Technical Working Group. The Agency and EAO will finalize and issue the Revised EIS Guidelines to the proponent once the Agency and EAO are satisfied that Aboriginal and public comments related to the revisions have been considered. The Revised EIS Guidelines will then become the complete set of directions and questions for which the proponent is required to provide results and answers in their future EIS document.

    The following information, to be provided in the future EIS document, is not part of the Revised EIS Guidelines:

    • the results of the studies
    • an assessment of potential project effects
    • environmental management plans
    • proposed mitigation

    2. Changes to the Project

    The Project is an open pit copper and gold mine with major facilities located near the City of Kamloops (see Figures 1 and 2). The original Project and the changes to the layout and design of the Project are summarized below.

    Original Proposal

    The Project proposed in 2011 included the following:

    • An open-pit mine that would supply 21.9 million tonnes of ore to the processing plant annually over a 23-year mine life
    • A 60 000-tonne-per-day conventional flotation processing plant
    • A ‘dry-stack' tailings storage facility adjacent to the Coquihalla highway
    • Major Project components within the Kamloops city boundary
    • Waste rock storage facilities
    • A new access and haul road
    • A transmission line and transformer upgrades
    • An explosives storage facility
    • A concentrate storage and shipping area
    • Concentrate transport to the Port of Vancouver

    New Proposal

    While the open pit is in the same location, the new mine layout proposed in 2014 includes the following changes:

    • No ‘dry-stack' tailings storage facility adjacent to the Coquihalla highway
    • No major Project components within the Kamloops city boundary
    • North Waste Rock Storage Facility is relocated to south of the open pit
    • Ore stockpiles are relocated to south of the open pit
    • Mill, crushing and conveying infrastructure are relocated to south of the open pit (i.e., no in-pit crushing and conveying of ore)
    • Tailings storage facility is relocated out of the Cherry Creek watershed and south of the open pit
    • Thickened, stacked tailings are replaced by a conventional tailings storage facility

    Figure 1 ? Original Layout of Proposed Project (Source: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.)

    Figure 1 – Original Layout of Proposed Project (Source: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.)

    Figure 2 ? New Layout of Proposed Project (Source: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.)

    Figure 2 – New Layout of Proposed Project (Source: KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.)

    3. Revisions to the EIS Guidelines

    Key changes in the Revised EIS Guidelines are as follows:

    • Section 2.0 (Project Overview) has been updated to reflect the changes to the location of Project components. For example, the distance between the closest Project facility to the neighbourhood of Aberdeen has changed from 1.3 kilometres from the closest point on the previously proposed Temporary Ore Stockpile to 1.75 kilometres from the nearest aspect of the closest site structure, the East Waste Rock Storage Facility.
    • Section 3.0 (Detailed Project Description) has been updated to reflect the current layout and design of the Project, including new plans for a conventional tailings storage facility. The description of in-pit crushing and the thickened tailings plant have been removed since in-pit crushing and dry-stack tailings are no longer part of the Project.
    • Section 5.0 (Effects Assessment) has been revised to reflect different study areas for Valued Components due to the new location of certain project facilities. "Human Health" has been added as a new Valued Component under the health assessment category. Previously, human health had been assessed through other valued components, such as country foods and air quality.
    • Section 17.0 (Federal Environmental Assessment Requirements) includes different requirements for the assessment of the environmental effects of accidents and malfunctions that may occur in connection with the Project. This change was made in response to the Project design change from dry stack tailings to a conventional tailings storage facility.

    4. Valued Components in the Revised EIS Guidelines

    The topics to be studied as valued components are listed in the table below. The Revised EIS Guidelines include a separate "Human Health" valued component, which will incorporate information from a human health and ecological risk assessment, as well as other valued components related to health.

    Assessment Category Proposed Valued Components
    Environment Valued Components
    1. Greenhouse Gas Management
    2. Geology, Landforms and Soils
    3. Surface Water Quality
    4. Surface Water Quantity
    5. Groundwater Quality
    6. Groundwater Quantity
    7. Fish Populations and Fish Habitat
    8. Rare Plants
    9. Rare and Sensitive Ecological Communities
    10. Grasslands
    11. Terrestrial Invertebrates
    12. Amphibians
    13. Reptiles
    14. Migratory Birds
    15. Raptors
    16. Non-Migratory Game Birds
    17. Mammals
    Economic Valued Components
    1. Economic Growth
    2. Labour Force, Employment and Training
    3. Income
    4. Business
    5. Property Values
    6. Economic Diversification
    Social Valued Components
    1. Community Health and Well-being
    2. Infrastructure, Public Facilities and Services
    3. Dark Sky
    4. Visual Impact/Aesthetic Features (Including Shading)
    5. Land and Resource Use
    6. Outdoor Recreation
    Heritage Valued Components
    1. Heritage Objects
    2. Heritage Sites
    Health Valued Components
    1. Air Quality
    2. Domestic Water Quality
    3. Country Foods
    4. Human Health
    5. Noise and Vibration
    6. Healthy Living and Health Education

    5. Next steps in the EA process

    The Agency and EAO will take into consideration written comments received during this public comment period, and will require the proponent to track the issues and concerns identified, and provide responses that relate to the changes to the layout and design of the mine. The Agency and EAO will finalize and issue the Revised EIS Guidelines to the proponent once the Agency and EAO are satisfied that Aboriginal and public comments related to the revisions have been considered. The Revised EIS Guidelines will then become the complete set of directions and questions for which the proponent is required to provide results and answers in their future EIS document.

    The review of the proponent's EIS will be conducted jointly by the Agency and the EAO, with the Agency focusing on matters under federal jurisdiction and the EAO reviewing matters under provincial jurisdiction, in consultation with the EA Technical Working Group.

    The Agency and EAO will announce future opportunities for the public to participate in the EA process, including an opportunity to comment on the proponent 's EIS.

    Please refer to the Agency and EAO websites for information on the status of the proposed Project and the EA process, including opportunities for public participation:

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