Detour Gold has pleaded guilty to, and been fined $62,500 for, harvesting Crown timber without a licence.
Court heard that on Dec. 8, 2014, Detour Gold Corp. applied for a Forest Resource Licence to harvest 159 hectares of Crown forest within the Detour Gold Mine properties located northeast of Cochrane.
During an internal review of the licence application, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry determined that a portion of the harvest area fell outside the boundary of a previously approved environmental assessment (EA).
Detour Gold Corp. was notified of this issue and informed by the ministry that a subsequent EA would need to be completed before the approval of any harvesting activities within that area.
While working under direction from Detour Gold Corp. between March and September of 2015 and prior to completing the EA, a local forestry contractor harvested an area of 61 hectares without a Forest Resource Licence. The total volume of trees harvested was slightly less than 3,600 cubic metres.
Justice of the Peace Sylvie-Émanuelle Bourbonnais heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Cochrane, on Oct. 12, 2017.
