North Country Gold Corp. (NCGC) has recently acquired 19 Prospecting Permits covering Crown and Inuit Owned Lands, to the South of Baker Lake in the Kivalliq Region. The company plans to perform regional staking, prospecting, soil sampling and drone flights starting July 1st, 2017. Prior to July 15th, 2017 all work will be completed outside of the Core Calving and Post Calving Ranges, as identified by the Government of Nunavut shapefiles. As per discussions with the Kivalliq Inuit Association, no work will be performed on Inuit Owned Lands at any time within the Core Calving or Post Calving Ranges. Therefore after July 15th, 2017 all work within the Core Calving and Post Calving Range will be restricted to Crown Lands.
The 2017 exploration program is anticipated to take approximately 6 weeks (42 days) to complete. The number of personnel required is anticipated to be 13, for a total of 546 man days. No Camp is required for the project as it will be based out of Baker Lake, approximately 100 km to the northwest. Helicopters will be used to move people to, from and around the project. Exact flight paths are not known at this time, but they will be from Baker Lake to project area and back daily. Drone flights will be restricted to the prospecting permits. The drone flights will only be over crown lands within the Core Calving or Post Calving Ranges. The drones will be flown daily for the entire duration of the program at a height of 800 ft.
A small Jet fuel cache (less than 4,000 Litres) located on crown land may be required to support the field activities. Within 10 days of the establishment of any temporary fuel cache Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the Nunavut Water Board (NWB), the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) will be notified of the details of the cache including: GPS location, fuel type, container sizes and method of storage. Any fuel stored on the project will be stored within “Arctic Insta-Berms”, or similar products, for secondary containment.
NCGC recognizes the need to effectively manage the interdependence between the needs of our shareholders and respecting the natural environment in order to effectively achieve sustainable development goals. NCGC is committed to undertaking its exploration programs in a manner that minimizes or eliminates adverse environmental effects with a proactive approach and maintaining good relationships with all relevant regulatory bodies. NCGC’s goal of sustainable development includes training and employing local Inuit from neighbouring communities.
NCGC anticipates conducting meaningful consultation with the communities of Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake on, or about, May of this year. The purpose of the consultation would be to engage with local communities and knowledge holders for advice on possible effects of the project, as well as local employment and business opportunities. Information sought from the communities would include wildlife movements for avoidance purposes and to help in developing the Wildlife and Environment Monitoring and Mitigation Plan. NCGC views consultation as an important aspect of their exploration activities and engagement of local knowledge holders as an collaborative relationship in the success of their activities.