Basics of
Frontier's Proposals
There are five components of the Frontier Project for Sandy Lakers to think about.
There are five components of the Frontier Project for Sandy Lakers to think about.
Frontier needs an all-season road from Red Lake to their proposed mine site near the Deer Lake / Sandy Lake junction. Sandy Lake has long wanted an all-season road too. We will be having exploratory discussions within the community and with government about this. We may negotiate for an extension of the all-season road to our community as a condition of support for the mine.
An all-season road will have impacts, both good and bad, so we need to talk about it. If we decide we want an all-season road to Sandy Lake, then we will need to work with Frontier, Ontario and Canada to make it happen. Although it could happen even without a mine, it is more likely to happen if a mine goes ahead, because a mine promises future revenues, and we can use those to offset roadbuilding costs.
Frontier is proposing to develop a mine with two open pits, near Pakeagama Lake, close to the North Spirit - Sandy Lake junction. This is where they would dig up and crush rocks to extract lithium. The mine site would be a bit larger than the lands that both schools and the arena are on in the community. The mine site will have impacts on lands and waters.
We need to know the details and carefully study Frontier's plans, from site preparation to eventual closure and clean-up of the mine. Team Sandy has hired an independent expert - an environmental scientist named Dean O'Gorman - to work directly for Sandy Lake. He is looking closely at how Frontier plans to protect the water, land and air, and is reporting back to Sandy Lake directly.
Frontier needs somewhere for people to stay while they work. Right now, they're using the Knox Lake Camp. If they eventually build the mine, they would need a big camp at Pakeagama Lake. A camp comes with risks because people are coming in from outside, but it can also bring jobs and benefits.
We are talking with Frontier and Ontario about the Knox Lake Camp and future plans for workers camps.
A mine needs lots of power. Frontier has applied to link up to the Wataynikaneyap Power transmission line, which passes nearby the proposed mine site. Frontier can only hook up if there will be no impact on existing users of the line, like Sandy Lake and other communities. Frontier would also need to build a substation.
This decision is made by the Ontario energy regulators, not by Wataynikaneyap or the First Nations owners. Frontier has to consult with First Nations. We will study the details. We are also exploring the possibility of a mine leading to opportunities to promote new renewable power projects in our territory.
Frontier plans to do most of the final processing of the lithium at a new plant they want to build down south, in Thunder Bay. They would then sell the final product, mostly to companies that make batteries. These batteries can help the world move to cleaner energy and fight climate change.
Building a big processing plant could cause more environmental and social impacts for Thunder Bay, but would also bring lots of new economic opportunities. We are exploring the kinds of economic benefits Sandy Lake would see from the mine and eventual sale of lithium, if we decide to offer our consent.