Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Resource, Wildlife and Economic Development. The questions are in relation to the Diavik diamond project. Mr. Speaker, the Diavik project is a large undertaking and due to the location of the deposits and the mining method proposed, a large horizontal and vertical footprint will be left. Although the basic mining concepts proposed are well established, the location of the deposits under water requires some innovative engineering solutions to allow conventional mining methods to be executed. These innovations introduce a significant construction water management component to the project. The most substantial environmental impacts may well be during the construction period, and once the decision to proceed is granted and construction is commenced, the process will essentially be irreversible.
The mining options are: mining without a dike; mining with a dike; and, underground mining with open pit crown pillar. Mr. Speaker, both the public and DIAND have expressed concern about the impact of Diavik's proposed mining process will have. DIAND hired an independent contractor to assess alternative mining technologies to address two main concerns. First, are there alternative ways to mine deposits such as these which could reduce surface disturbance and potential environmental impact, and secondly, is there some way that the currently proposed footprint could be reduced. The contractor came back and said that there should be a way to minimize this footprint and, in fact, indicated ,that perhaps, mining partly underground would be acceptable. Mr. Speaker, what I am wondering is, what is the government's position on the use of alternative mining technology to carry out this project? Thank you.