Press Releases
Let us begin a discussion to clear up any misunderstandings! |
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In a May 28, 2018 message posted on the SOS GSLR website, it is claimed that Canada Carbon “paints too beautiful a picture of the situation.” The authors add that our document, "The Facts about the Miller Project", is incomplete. We will try, in what follows, to clear up any misunderstanding about the issues related to water, noise and the size of the Miller project. But let’s be frank: these are complex issues which require open discussions with residents rather than exchanges of correspondence. We began the process with the Open Doors sessions held in 2017, but it was interrupted. It is important that the process continues. While waiting until face to face discussions can be held, let us attempt to rectify some of the misinterpretations of data that exist by providing these written explanations. Water SOS GSLR repeatedly cites the preliminary 2017 BluMetric report entitled Étude hydrogéologique Préliminaire. Additional hydrogeology work carried out in 2017 and 2018 has enabled a better characterization of the water at the Miller site, and the conclusions of the study are accessible in the final BluMetric report entitled Étude hydrogéologique de la Carrière de Marbre Miller
The text from SOS GSLR cites a passage from the report prepared by LNA Hydrogéologie for the Village of Grenville that states that there will be a ‘real risk in the event that the mining company wants to open a mine within the drainage basin of the municipal well.’ Based on this single hypothetical statement, SOS GSLR concludes that there is a risk that the aquifer for the wells could lack water. The SOS GSLR text should have also cited another extract from the LNA report, which confirms that the Miller project is not located in the same drainage basin as the municipal wells. GSLR also had an independent hydrology study conducted by Hydrophila dated 31 May 2017 (https://www.canadacarbon.com/docs/Rapport-detude-hydrogeologique.pdf) which also concluded that the Miller Project is isolated from other watersheds. Noise When discussing the impact of noise, SOS GSLR compares the Miller project to that at St-Aimé-du-lac-des-îles. One should be careful with comparisons, particularly when the things being compared are not similar. The Miller Project’s proposed pits and infrastructure would affect a maximum area of 0.67 km2 while the St-Aimé-du-Lac-des-Iles project affects an area of 2.9 km2. At the Miller project, four blasts will be carried out per year in the graphite mine zone. Planning in advance and working with citizens will allow us to determine the best times of the year to conduct the blasts so that the impact will be minimized. Extraction of waste material from the quarry will be done by sawing or by micro-blasting so as to avoid cracking the adjacent marble. This considerably reduces that amount of blasting to be done. All of these details will be better defined in the context of a feasibility study, which has yet to be completed; hence the importance for Canada Carbon and the residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge to continue discussing this subject so as to integrate ideas and comments into our feasibility study. The Size of the Project Canada Carbon has often compared the size of its proposed graphite and marble pits to that of other mine pits so that residents can form a concrete idea of the size of the Miller Project. The Miller Project pits and infrastructure combined will only occupy an area of about 0.67 km2. This is significantly smaller than the Mont Wright, Malartic, Renard, Lac-Des-Iles, and Lac Bachelor mines which occupy 36 km2, 16 km2, 2.15 km2, 2.9 km2, and 1.6 km2, respectively. (These measurements are calculated using Google Earth). The site will not be visible from the lowlands of GSLR and will also not be visible from Scotch Road. Rolling Resource: what does it mean? Unlike a typical disseminated graphite deposit, the Miller deposit features veins and pods which contain higher concentrations of graphite. Drill results are used to determine the location and grade of graphite which in turn is used to estimate the size of the resource. Unfortunately, because the veins and pods are not found in a straight line, it is difficult to find them through traditional drilling methods. Canada Carbon uses the term rolling resource to describe the process whereby the Company will continue to conduct additional drilling during the mining stage to update its resource estimates. The Company’s extractive activities for the Miller Project would be limited to the boundaries for which it has applied to the CPTAQ. Any expansion of this boundary, or any proposed extractive activity on other claims in the Company’s possession would require a new application to the CPTAQ. Communication is Key It is quite understandable that people who do not work in the mining industry would have difficulty interpreting the comments and findings from the reports of experts. It is our job to shed light on these aspects by answering all questions, and this is what we wish to do with the residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. We propose holding another open-door session. It will give you, the residents of GSLR, the chance to express concerns, make comments and suggestions, and pose questions. We will provide you with answers and, where necessary, call on experts to provide responses. Once we have had the open-door session, we can come to an agreement as to the best approach going forward, such as working committees, to explore your concerns and suggestions and publicly report the results of the findings.
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