Great Bear Resources / Kinross Gold Corporation - Acknowledging receipt of a closure plan for an advanced exploration project

Under the Mining Act, lands subject to advanced exploration and/or mine production activities must be rehabilitated after the activities have finished. A closure plan outlines how the land will be rehabilitated and the costs associated with doing so, as well as providing for financial assurance from the proponent to cover rehabilitation costs. Closure plans and amendments must meet all legal requirements at the time of submission. Otherwise, they cannot be filed by the ministry. In addition, where the ministry’s consideration of a proposed closure plan triggers the Crown’s duty to consult with one or more Indigenous communities, as is the case here, the ministry will not invite the proponent to file a closure plan until such time as an assessment has been made that the duty to consult has been satisfied.

The proposed Great Bear Resources Ltd. Advanced Exploration Closure Plan has not been submitted for filing. In anticipation of a potential submission, however, the ministry has made the proposed Closure Plan available to the public for the purpose of seeking public comment.

The proposed Advanced Exploration Closure Plan outlines plans to establish portal(s) and decline(s) to provide access underground for the construction of underground workings, extract 60,000 tonnes of ore for testing only, on-site storage of mine rock, transport of mine rock off-site by truck for testing only, and additional activities on the surface such as environmental monitoring and management.