Since receipt of the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) Project Certificate (PC No. 007) and the Nunavut Water Board (NWB) Type A Water Licence (2AM-BRP1831), Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (Sabina) has continued to advance engineering and additional fieldwork related to Construction, Operations, and Closure of the Back River Project (the Approved Project). The Approved Project includes an amendment to PC No. 007 which was approved by NIRB in 2020 to allow modification to some components (Sabina 2020; NIRB 2020). As part of the strategy to advance the Approved Project in a sustainable and financially responsible manner, Sabina has identified further modifications that will reduce consumption of required non-renewable fuel sources and will optimize the Approved Project.The proposed modification to the Approved Project is the Back River Project Energy Centre (the Modification), a wind generation facility, solar panel array, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capable of generating approximately 59 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy with battery storage capacities of approximately 50 megawatt-hours (MWh). As with all projects, modifications occur throughout the project lifecycle, and those included in the Modification Package have been reviewed by Sabina in consideration of the following:oInuit Qaujimajatuqangit Values;oTraditional Knowledge of local land users;oNIRB Final Hearing Report (NIRB 2017a) and Project Certificate (NIRB 2017b);oNWB Public Hearing Decision Report (NWB 2018a) and Type A Water Licence (NWB 2018b);oNIRB Direction Regarding the “Back River Project 2020 Modification Package” (NIRB 2020);oOngoing discussions with communities and government departments;oFieldwork which have tested our assumptions;oAdditional Detailed Engineering; andoRefinement of the overall Modification plan.The Modification Package includes key design details and, where required, updated figures; an overview of previous and regulatory history specific to the modification; key management and mitigation measures; a discussion on community engagement and traditional knowledge; an effects assessment for the proposed modification; and Sabina’s conclusions on the proposed modification. Sabina’s view is that the proposed Modification is considered minor in the overall scope of the original environmental assessment and permitted mine, and is considered a “non-significant modification” to the Approved Project. The specific timing for development of these components within the construction sequence has not yet been identified, but is currently planned for the late Construction and/or early Operations Phase. If approved, the proposed modifications are anticipated to provide several benefits for the Approved Project. The generation of wind and solar energy is anticipated to reduce the annual fuel consumption of the Approved Project by approximately 50%. As a result of this reduction in fuel consumption, fewer fuel truck trips per year along the WIR will be required to supply the Goose Property with fuel. A reduction in trucking operations by approximately 700 fuel truck trips per year and an overall reduction in the timeframe required to complete annual WIR operations by approximately 25% is anticipated once wind and solar energy infrastructure is fully operational. The use of wind and solar generated electricity from the Modification will reduce air emissions from fuel combustion associated with diesel generators used at the Approved Project. The emissions from the diesel generators in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Sabina 2015) accounted for approximately 29% of NOX emissions and 3% of PM2.5 emissions. A 50% reduction in the emissions from diesel generators is expected to result in a 50% reduction in ground level concentrations of these greenhouse gas compounds resulting from fuel consumption. The location for the Modification PDA was selected as historical wind and meteorological data collected from on-site meteorological devices have shown this location to have a strong wind resource, and baseline data observations noted no identified environmental concerns within this area to date. The proposed location is also compatible with existing land uses identified by the KIA and is directly adjacent to the Approved Project PDA.