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

Gold Canyon Resources Inc.
Springpole Gold Access Corridor Project
Final Environmental Study Report
developed. Additional details regarding GCU’s consultation activities are summarized in the bullets
below.
Consultation for this specific proposal has been on-going since 7 April 2012, utilizing various
consultation methods, including distribution of digital and/or hard copy project reports via
email and conventional mail, phone-based consultations, one-on-one meetings, and
presentations to landowners, businesses and other local stakeholder organizations, upon
request.
GCU initiated early pre-screening consultation with sixteen stakeholders who were identified
by the MNR as potentially having a strong interest in the project. An introductory letter and
maps showing two (2) corridor alternatives were distributed to the group for comment on 7
April 2012. All comments received as part of the pre-screening process were documented
on Stakeholder Contact Forms and summarized in a Public Consultation Summary Log.
GCU followed up on all comments with one-on-one meetings or email or phone
consultations, as appropriate in each case.
On 21 July 2012, GCU released a report entitled Springpole Exploration and Access
Corridor Project, Base Case Project Description Report, which was circulated via email to all
Aboriginal communities who were identified by the Crown as exercising rights in the area
and an expanded list of stakeholders, including government agencies, NGO’s and regional
stakeholder organizations. The purpose of this document was to allow the MNR to determine
the category of the environmental assessment required pursuant to MNR (2003) and to
solicit feedback from the aforementioned groups so GCU could develop mitigation measures
for any concerns. The list of comments at this stage of the process ranged from “no interest
in the project” to formal position papers regarding the impact the road will have on specific
local stakeholders. GCU responded to all expressions of concern, and made several
modifications to the proposed Project which were reflected in the draft and Final ESRs in
order mitigate concerns and potential impacts.
On 17 October 2012, GCU submitted a draft ESR for the proposed Project to the MNR and
sent out notification to all stakeholders, using a combination of mailings, e-mailings, and
postings in three (3) local newspapers, including the October 17 th editions of the Northern
Sun News (Red Lake) and the Bulletin (Sioux Lookout), and in the October 18 th edition of the
Wawatay News (Sioux Lookout). GCU confirmed receipt of the Notification letters through
Canada Post tracking system. Additionally, all stakeholders were contacted by phone to
confirm receipt of the Notification, to ensure the Report could accessed by the stakeholders,
and to invite further comment and discussion of the proposal. GCU also provided hard
copies of the Draft ESR to stakeholders upon request.
GCU made special efforts to contact stakeholders who had expressed concerns with the
project in the pre-consultation discussions. Several stakeholders did reiterate their concerns
from the original pre-consultation discussions. In these cases, the mitigation measures that
were incorporated in the Draft ESR were reviewed in detail, and the stakeholders were
invited to contact the MNR to further discuss their concerns if they felt the mitigation
measures did not adequately address the potential impacts. Very few new impacts were
identified because the pre-consultation with stakeholders had identified most of the potential
impacts and areas of concern to the stakeholders, and because these items were addressed
in the Draft ESR All comments were documented and mitigation measures were reevaluated
by the GCU team, in consultation with the MNR and the stakeholders themselves,
to identify areas where improvements could be made to better address on-going concerns.
These improved mitigation measures are all incorporated into this Report.
July 2013 Page 30