LaPresse Critical Elements Je vous recommande cet article de La Presse : Des trappeurs cris inquiets pour leur mode de vie
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Google Translate of the parts they talk about CRE
DRY LAKES
Freddy's van stops at kilometer 58 of the EM1 road, on the territory of the Cree community of Eastmain, north of Nemaska.
This is where Critical Elements Corporation plans to drain and empty two lakes after donating the fish to the community, to build an open-pit lithium and tantalum mine, which could produce around 4,500 tonnes of ore per day. for 17 years.
In one of the environmental impact studies carried out by the proponent, we can read this: "In order to reduce fish mortality, fisheries will be carried out in Lake 1 in order to remove some of the fish and offer them to the communities. indigenous. It will not be possible to capture all the fish since at a certain point the probability of capture becomes too low. »
The mine will be built directly on tallyman Ernie Moses' traditional hunting territory.
"I'm sad, but there's not much I can do against this project," laments Ernie Moses when La Presse Canadienne encounters him near one of the lakes that will be dried up.
For several generations, his family has been trapping beaver in this body of water located in an area where there is an abundance of small and big game, fish and bird species at risk, according to the environmental assessment carried out by the federal government.
To extract the mineral from the ground, in this region which has "one of the purest spodumene deposits in the world, with more than 530 km2 of land", according to Critical Elements Corporation, it will also be necessary to destroy wetlands and cut down a significant amount of trees.
"What's going to be left of this land in 20 years? asks Ernie Moses, explaining that when he looks at the lake in front of him, he sees "beavers, but the mine, she sees a dollar sign".
The trapper has entered into an agreement with the promoter to help him make an inventory of the beavers on the territory, in order to get them out of the water, before the lake is wiped off the map.
This mining project provides for 136 heavy truck passages per day, in the middle of the boreal forest, during the exploitation of the resource.
« All those trucks will scare away big game like moose and caribou," laments Freddy Jolly.
The Critical Elements Corporation and Nemaska Lithium projects have received the approval of federal and provincial authorities and Cree band councils in the region.
In Eastmain, a community about a 20-hour drive north of Montreal, La Presse Canadienne caught up with band council chief Kenneth Cheezo, who supports mining development.
The Critical Elements Corporation project is located on the traditional lands of its community.
"It's new for us, it's the first time that a mine will open in the territory," explains Chief Cheezo.
"The company has come into the community, into our schools, to talk to young people about the jobs that will be created, and we're not just talking about low-wage earners. There are job opportunities in engineering, human resources and several management positions. »
The high school graduation rate has increased in recent years in Eastmain and he believes this may be due to the eventual opening of the mine and the jobs that will be offered.
"I like to think that the success of our students in recent years is, perhaps, partly due to the fact that they know that when they graduate, something, a reward, can be wait for them. »
— Kenneth Cheezo, Chief of the Eastmain Band Council
Both Nemaska Lithium and Critical Elements Corporation have pledged to provide job training in Cree communities and the communities will receive financial compensation for hosting the mines, amounts that are not disclosed.
Eastmain Cree Nation Chief Kenneth Cheezo says he is optimistic, based on meetings with representatives of Critical Elements Corporation, that the extraction will be done in a way that minimizes the effects on the environment.
However, he admits that finding the right balance between the traditional way of life, environmental protection and economic development is a perilous exercise.