Editorial: AEMQ battles proposed park on Cadillac break

Is the Quebec government losing its marbles?

One wonders, given that it’s now seriously considering giving in to a small group of environmentalist agitators and imposing “protected-area” status on a large portion of the famed Cadillac break in northwestern Quebec’s Abitibi region — la Belle Province‘s literal “valley of gold.”

The 210-km-long Larder Lake-Cadillac break — a deep, extensive fault system chock full of gold — extends from Kirkland Lake in Ontario eastwards through Rouyn-Noranda and on to Val d’Or.

In the past century, more than 150 million ounces of gold have been discovered in this single geological structure, or an average of 714,000 ounces per km. This makes it one of the richest gold belts ever discovered in the world, and a reliable centre of wealth creation for Ontario and Quebec.

Today, on the Quebec side, the Cadillac break and its related structures host major gold mines such as Cambior‘s (CBJ-T, CBJ-X) Doyon complex and Agnico-Eagle Mines‘ (AEM-T, AEM-N) LaRonde mine, which exploits Canada’s largest gold deposit. New Cadillac-hosted gold deposits coming on-line in the next few years include Agnico’s Lapa and Goldex projects.

In all, the mining industry directly and indirectly employs some 6,000 people in Quebec’s Abitibi-Temiscamingue region.

However, Quebec’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, the Environment and Parks is now in the final stages of deciding whether or not to impose protected-area status over a large swath of land around Lac Dasserat in Dasserat Canton, which abuts the border with Ontario. The proposed protected area would cover a 20-km portion of the Cadillac break, and all industrial activity within it would be banned.

While it’s true that this portion of the break has never supported a mine, that doesn’t mean its mineral potential has been fully evaluated and deemed lacking.

After all, just west of the proposed protected area, about 4 km inside Ontario near Virginiatown, is the historic Kerr-Addison mine, which produced more than 10 million ounces of gold over many decades before closing in the mid-1990s.

Just east of the proposed protected area is the exhausted Francoeur gold mine, Richmont Mine‘s (RIC-T, RIC-X) million-ounce producer.

Within the boundaries of the proposed protected area are some nice gold showings. Kerr Addison did some drilling at depth here and found wide, low-grade gold intersections as well as a few smaller high-grade ones.

Globally, the Quebec government has a hard-earned reputation as one of mining’s best friends, with an approach to mineral development characterized by pragmatism, enthusiasm and an embrace of cutting-edge technology.

So the question becomes, why is this government now willing to toss that reputation aside for a dubious green agenda?

The answer is that the government is hesitant to take a stand against a popular local poet-singer and environmentalist, Richard Desjardins, who is the driving force for the creation of this particular protected area.

Born in Rouyn-Noranda and now in his late 50s, Desjardins rose to some cultural prominence in Quebec in the 1970s and ’80s as a folk singer-songwriter.

In the 1990s, Desjardins put aside his music and focused on environmental issues through his non-governmental organization, Action Boreale, which aims to preserve Quebec’s boreal forest by halting major economic activity in it, namely mining, forestry and hydroelectric power generation.

As an environmentalist, Desjardins’ big score was with his 1999 film “Erreur Boreale,” a scathing look at clear-cutting practices in Quebec by the forestry industry. It sent shock waves across the province.

Desjardins used the leverage from his film’s success to push the provincial government into chopping the forestry industry’s production permits by 20%.

He also succeeded in getting a protected area around his family’s cottage near Lac Vaudray, which is east of Rouyn-Noranda’s airport. (This protected area did not raise any objections from the mining industry, as its northern border stopped well short of the Cadillac break.)

Now, it seems, after victories against the forestry industry, Desjardins wants to show that he can also control the mining industry.

The fact that this protected area in Dasserat Canton is being seriously considered is further evidence that Quebec’s minister of natural resources and fauna has too weak a voice in cabinet compared to the environment minister.

Industry’s voice has been strong, though: Gerald Riverin, president of the Quebec Mining Exploration Association (AEMQ), has been leading the charge against the proposed protected area over the Cadillac break, arguing that the decision must be made based on a transparent, scientific evaluation of the costs and benefits to Quebec society as a whole, rather that the narrow interests of Desjardins and his friends.

As Riverin rightly says, “The government should not be handing over Quebec’s mining business to a singer-poet. We don’t like the principle: because you’re popular, you can have your park.”

And it looks like this may just be the first of many battles to come in the province, because the Quebec government’s official target is to reclassify 8% of its territory as a protected area. Right now, about 3.5% of the province is a protected area, including roughly 0.5% in the Abitibi region.