Selwyn mine's proposed road upgrade to get environmental review
Parks Canada says rugged terrain could increase changes of spills near fish-bearing water
Selwyn Chihong Mining's proposed upgrade of a road to its lead-zinc mining project in Yukon's Selwyn Mountains will undergo an environmental assessment.
Parks Canada officially requested the environmental assessment in a letter to Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board dated July 10.
The Howard's Pass Access Road, first developed in the 1970s, runs 79 kilometres northwest from the Nahanni Range Road to the N.W.T.-Yukon border. It goes through two national parks, including the Dehcho region's Nahanni National Park Reserve.
The mining company wants to convert the single lane road into a two-lane road capable of handling a steady stream of commercial vehicles, including trucks that will haul lead and zinc concentrates down to B.C.
Parks Canada says the road construction and mining traffic could have significant impacts on caribou, Dall's sheep, mountain goats, grizzly bears and several other types of animals.
"The proposed development is in rugged terrain, resulting in a higher potential for spills and accidents near fish-bearing streams," Jonathan Tsetso, acting superintendent for the Nahanni National Park Reserve, wrote in the letter to the board.
Selwyn-Chihong hopes to begin the upgrading work in the summer of 2017 and wrap up the project by the fall of 2018. An environmental assessment has been factored into that timeline, the company said last week.
The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board will conduct the assessment.
