Public hearings planned for Cinola mine

Public meetings are being planned to address environmental and other key aspects of the controversial Cinola gold mine project on the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia. British Columbia Mines Minister Jack Davis said the hearings will be held to ensure full disclosure of all aspects of the project, and to weigh public concerns before any decisions are made.

“The government will only allow the project to go ahead if it is being demonstrated to be environmentally safe,” he said.

Davis stated that if the hearings show the project to be environmentally safe, its 200 jobs would be a welcome boost to the area’s economy.

The Cinola project, midway through a provincial mine development review process, is owned by City Resources Canada (TSE). City’s largest shareholder is Barrack Mines of Australia.

Mike Berthelsen, president of City Resources, said the company is nearing completion of an updated feasibility study for a proposed 6,100-ton-per-day open pit mining operation that is targeted to produce an average of about 150,000 oz. gold annually.

“The report should be finalized by the end of May and once it is complete we’re prepared to go to public hearings this fall with intent to get approval-in-principle before year-end,” he said. “But we won’t do this unless the feasibility study is positive, and we don’t know that yet.”

Dates have not yet been set for the hearings which are expected to be conducted jointly with the federal government as part of British Columbia’s Mine Development Review Process and the federal environmental assessment and review process.

The key environmental issue is expected to be the potential for acid rock drainage from the mine’s pitwalls, waste dumps and tailings. The project is near salmon rivers that are highly valued by residents, including the native population.