Professor needs funds for review

Consolidated Professor Mines (TSE) says it will need additional funding to pay for future costs associated with an environmental review of its Duport gold project at Shoal Lake west of Kenora, Ont.

President Richard Cunningham-Dunlop says the project’s designation for review under Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) has cost his company about $300,000 since it was targeted in 1989. If Consolidated Professor is forced to pay the legal costs of environmentalists and other opponents of the controversial project, the final bill is expected to run into the millions of dollars.

Adding to the uncertainty surrounding the project is the amount of time needed to complete public hearings that may follow after the federal and provincial governments have completed their assessment of the project. Having attained the dubious distinction of being the first private sector gold project to be slated for review under the EAA, Consolidated Professor could be required to pay for any technical or legal advice requested by opponents.

But Cunningham-Dunlop says it is absurd that his company should have to pay such costs and he will consult with his own lawyers before doing so. “We don’t accept that this is either fair or justifiable,” he said. Because much of Winnipeg’s drinking water is drawn from Shoal Lake, opponents claim Duport will pose environmental risks and they have lobbied heavily for political intervention. But Cunningham-Dunlop claims there is no technical reason why the high-grade deposit containing 937,000 tons of grade 0.39 oz. gold per ton should not be brought into production.

Future plans call for a flotation concentrator to be built at the project site on Stevens Island where Consolidated Professor proposes to mine the deposit using an existing decline and underground workings. With environmental permits in place, concentrates would be shipped to the mainland and gold recovered at a selected site on the mainland outside the Shoal Lake watershed.

Meanwhile, the environmental studies undertaken by Con-solidated Professor are almost complete and will soon be sent to the Assessment Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Copies will also be sent for screening by the federal government which could participate in the review process. Cunningham-Dunlop is encouraged by support from the local community including an endorsement from the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Corp. and the councils of Kenora and nearby Jaffray Melnick.

Also, an offer tabled by the company for a cottage property near the proposed mine site was recently accepted by one of Consolidated Professor’s most vocal critics. The cottager was a leading voice in the Winnipeg Water Protection Group because she objected to noise levels from exploration work on Stevens Island.

In a report to shareholders, the company says it has been able to convince other cottagers that it can eliminate noise effectively should the project be brought into production.