The Whale Tail Pit Project was assessed by the NIRB from 2016 � 2018. It was approved to proceed on March 15, 2018 subject to the terms and conditions of Project Certificate No. 008. This project dashboard contains the original assessment information as well as monitoring information from 2018 onward.

Modified from the 2016 Project Description: The Whale Tail Pit Project Proposal (the �Project�) is the proposed development of a satellite deposit located on the Amaruq Exploration property, approximately 150 kilometres (km) north of the Hamlet of Baker Lake and 50 km northwest of the existing Meadowbank Gold Mine Project (see Application 124588). An estimated 8.3 million tonnes (Mt) of ore will be mined from one open pit (Whale Tail Pit) and processed over three (3) to four (4) years. Ore will be hauled by truck to the approved infrastructure at the Meadowbank Gold Mine for milling. Tailings produced from processing of the Whale Tail Pit ore will be disposed of at the existing Meadowbank Gold Mine tailings storage facility. Construction will begin as early as 2018, operations occurring from 2019 to 2022, and closure from 2022 to 2029. The project anticipates the creation of up to 500 direct jobs through construction, and 561 jobs through operations (total of 931 for both the Whale Tail Pit Project Proposal and the Meadowbank Gold Mine Project).

Project facilities to support mining activities will consist of a camp facility, power plant, heli-pad, maintenance shop, fuel tank farm, waste rock storage facility, ore stockpiling facility, water management infrastructure, water treatment systems, haul roads, and access roads. The accommodations and camp facility will be built for 210 personnel.

The Project will also include the expansion of the existing Amaruq exploration access road from 6.5 metres to 9.5 metres for use as a haul road, in order to accommodate haul trucks and the associated increased traffic. The Proposal will continue to use the existing supporting infrastructure at the Meadowbank Gold Mine site, the all-weather access road between Baker Lake and the Meadowbank Gold Mine site, and the Baker Lake Marshalling Facility.