A special government environmental review panel is scheduling virtual public hearings for anyone to give their feedback and voice any concerns on a proposed open-pit mine outside the town of Marathon.
Toronto's Generation Mining announced that the federal-provincial Joint Review Panel has completed its review of the company’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addendum on its Marathon Palladium-Copper project.
The panel has determined that the information provided by the company is sufficient enough to head to a public hearing.
Virtual hearings begin Feb. 15, 2022 and are anticipated to take place over a 30-day period.
Upon completion of the hearings, the panel will have three months to complete its report, which will then be reviewed by the federal and provincial environments who will make a joint decision on the approval of the Marathon Project.
Members of the public, Indigenous groups and organizations wanting to participate in the public hearing can register by emailing the panel secretariat at marathonminereview-examenminemarathon@iaac-aeic.gc.ca no later than Jan. 16, 2022.
More details of the panel process can be found on the Government of Canada website for the Marathon Palladium Project here.
Gen Mining is out raising $665 million to develop a deposit located 10 kilometres north of the town of Marathon, a community of 3,300 on the north shore of Lake Superior. The project promises more than 1,000 construction jobs after the groundbreaking and 400 permanent mining jobs.
The company has cautioned investors that the start of construction is contingent on receiving critical permits following the approval of the environmental assessment, tentatively expected in the middle of next year.
If government permits are granted, an 18-month construction period will follow with commercial mining production tentatively beginning in late 2023 or early 2024.
Gen Mining president-CEO Jamie Levy called this a "major milestone" in the project's development.
“The company is looking forward to hearing from all participants on their views on the potential environmental and socioeconomic effects of the Marathon Palladium-Copper project.”
This first-ever federal-provincial Joint Review Panel for the Marathon project was started in 2011 to carry out a joint environmental assessment panel of the project.
The panel was disbanded in 2014 when Stillwater Canada shelved the project, but the panel process was re-established six years later when Generation Mining acquired the project with the intention of putting it into production.
The panel is assessing the potential environmental effects of the mine project, considering mitigation measures, determining whether the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, and identifing any follow-up programs required.
Gen Mining also announced it has acquired full ownership of the Marathon Palladium-Copper Project, buying out the remaining 16.5 per cent stake from Sibanye-Stillwater of South Africa, which will still own 19.1 per cent of Gen Mining.
