Strange Lake Rare Earth Mining Project

Both personally, and as an individual trained as an ecotoxicologist I am deeply opposed to this project.

The environmental implications of this project are staggering. Rare earth metal mining is extremely destructive, requiring enormous areas of land to be mined to produce the desired elemental quantities. Permitting this project to progress would not only culminate in geological upheaval on an immense scale but would also result in the potential release and bioaccumulation of trace metals, along with radioactive elements and other chemical substances. These could negatively impact the health of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife proximate to the proposed location with potential eventual population level effects.

First, this mine will be located on the George River caribou herd grounds. As the George River herd population has currently reached critical status, a disturbance on this scale could have a significant negative impact on these animals’ recruitment rate. This puts the recovery of this herd at further risk. Additionally, this project has proposed to discharge its wastewater into Lac Brisson, which flows Southward into Lac Mistinibi, the headwater lake of the George River. The George River is one of the most important spawning and migration rivers for Atlantic salmon in Canada. Changes to the physical, chemical, and biological composition of the river and watershed would have subsequent negative impacts for this species. This would place these fish under further stress at a time when the persistence of so many aquatic species is threatened from anthropogenic influences and a changing climate.

Beyond the environmental implications, this project also has further negative implications for human health as this aquatic and terrestrial wildlife in the area are of significant cultural and subsistence importance to Kangiqsualujjuammiut and Nunavimmiut. There is significant scientific evidence detailing and linking the impacts of contaminants on animal and human health and permitting this project to proceed may put people at risk. So please consider not allowing Torngat Metals Inc. to open this mine.