As part of the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) process, Agnico Eagle will be required to evaluate all potential impacts and suggest ways to reduce those impacts.  This will be reviewed by different regulators and intervenors and guidelines for monitoring will be given if the project is approved.

Currently at Meliadine, there is a 15 inch waterline on site.  Our experience is that caribou may sometimes hesitate before crossing this existing line, however eventually they all cross and movement is not impeded.

As part of the project, Agnico proposes to build caribou and ATV/snowmobile crossings along the waterline to reduce any potential impact to caribou movement.

This question will be further studied this summer during our caribou behavioral study and we invite the community to participate in this study with us.  If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact our Community Liaison Officer at (867) 645-2920 x4603199 or send an email to rankininlet@agnicoeagle.com.

Board (NIRB) process, Agnico Eagle will be required to evaluate all potential impacts and suggest ways to reduce those impacts.  This will be reviewed by different regulators and intervenors and guidelines for monitoring will be given if the project is approved.

Currently, Agnico Eagle monitors and samples the water before discharge and validates the results against the federal Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulation (MDMER).  Water is only released into the Melvin Bay if the water meets the criteria set by the MDMER.

The objective of MDMER is to reduce threats to fish and their habitat by improving the management of harmful substances in metal and diamond mining effluent (waste). You can find more information on their regulations by visiting the following website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/.

Based on our data from the 2019 discharge, we are confident that there will not be any significant impact to water quality in the bay because of high mixing zone.

It would take 150 to 300 trucks to move all of the water that needs to be transported.  This would dramatically increase the amount of traffic on the road and would not be feasible for Agnico.

Agnico Eagle’s permits are currently for 800 – 1,600 m³ per day (around 211,000 – 423,000 US gallons per day).  We would like to increase that amount to 6,000 – 12,000 m³ per day (around 1.6 – 3.2 million US gallons per day).

The waterline would be made of high density polyethylene (HDPE), a type of plastic.  This is the same material as the Hamlet’s waterline at Nipisar Lake.

In order to make sure that the water does not freeze in the waterline, we would like to discharge water from June to October each year.  We know that the ice forms and melts at different dates each year, so we will want to work with the community to understand when we can start to release water into the Melvin Bay and when we will need to stop.

We have evaluated different sizes of waterlines.  The diameter of the waterline will impact how much water we are able to move from Meliadine to Itivia in one day.  Given the amount of water that we need to move (6,000 m³ – 12,000 m³ per day), our best option are 2 side-by-side 16 inch waterlines laying on the land and running along the all-weather access road.

Burying the waterline or putting it under the road is not recommended.  The waterline will naturally move because of the water pressure in the waterline.  Best practice for this type of construction is to snake the waterline and anchor it at points along the line.  We can however create crossings along the waterline for caribou, ATV, and snowmobiles.