Revised Final Environmental Study Report (24 MB) - Gold Canyon ...

Gold Canyon Resources Inc: Final Environmental Study Report Review
March 30, 2013
1 Overview
Beginning in 2012, Gold Canyon Resources (GCU) put forward a proposal to develop a
seasonal access road to their primary drilling exploration site at Springpole Lake. The road
will extend roughly 43 Km northeast off the Wenasaga road from Ear Falls ON. After
reviewing road alternatives, GCU decided to pursue a road through the eastern corridor,
which requires clearing of roughly 645 km 2 of forested area.
In 2011 GCU contracted DST Consulting Engineers to conduct general environmental
baseline studies within the Springpole area. The general environmental baseline studies
were used to develop future Environmental Study Reports (ESR) for various projects;
eastern corridor development and increased mining exploration.
In July 2012 GCU released their Springpole Exploration & Access Corridor Base Case
Project Description Report, which was sent out to Stakeholders (tourist outfitters), First
Nation communities and interested parties. In October 2012 GCU released the Springpole
Gold Access Corridor Draft Environmental Study Report (ESR) to solicit feedback from
Stakeholders, First Nation communities and interested parties. Numerous tourist outfitters
raised objections to the project for reasons ranging from economic to environmental.
In November 2012, four tourist outfitters; Kabeelo Lodge, Birch Lake Lodge, Northern
Wilderness Outfitters and KayAir Service & Outposts (Trout Forest Tourist Outfitters),
collaborated to seek legal counsel regarding unresolved socio-economic and environmental
impacts resulting from eastern corridor development and operations. GCU did not provide
adequate environmental mitigation measures, nor any feasible options to tourist outfitters
for compensation due to economic loss incurred through loss of remote tourism value.
On March 2, 2013 GCU submitted their Springpole Gold Access Corridor Project Final ESR
under a Class C Environmental Assessment (EA), to the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources (OMNR) for approval. Stakeholders, First Nation communities and interested
parties received notification by email of the Final ESR from GCU, accompanied with an
electronic copy of the Final ESR (no technical reports were submitted): the OMNR did not
contact Stakeholders, First Nation communities or interested parties.
This report is a review of the GCU Final ESR and Baseline Environmental Technical Reports
(Technical Reports) submitted on March 2, 2013 to OMNR for approval by GCU, and
highlights deficiencies encountered with the ESR, Technical Reports and Preliminary
Economic Assessment, as reviewed by Trout Forest Tourist Outfitters.
Stakeholders have been very clear to the OMNR and GCU, that continued exploration
at Springpole does not require a winter road, and the rationale and baseline
environmental studies used to justify the project are without merit.
4