Communication to the community: Keriens watercourse deviation

Val d’Or, November 15, 2023

On Tuesday, November 14, an event was held to discuss the proposed deviation of the Keriens watercourse for the Marban Alliance project.  This meeting was a first public step in the discussion of the deviation and potential layout of the watercourse. Around 30 people, including community members, organizations, municipal representatives and environmental groups, took part in the discussions.

In its current form, the Keriens watercourse re-routing is an integral part of the project and is necessary for ore mining. This bypass is considering five pits (Kierens, Norlatic and satellites), the management of accumulated tailings around and in the Keriens stream, and the construction of dikes.

In parallel with this meeting, representatives of environmental groups expressed their opposition to the detour by circulating and sharing a written communication. This was received with openness by the O3 Mining team.

We want to take an upstream approach to managing the challenges and maximizing the opportunities associated with the deviation, so that it fits in with the environment.  The proposal deserves careful study and analysis.  We believe that collaboration, reflection and discussion with the neighborhood and various groups will enable us to make better decisions to optimize the detour proposal.

At this meeting, we took the time to share new information about the watercourse and possible deviation methods. Third-party animation was provided, and the following themes were addressed in discussion and exchange:

1- Presentation of the current situation of the watercourse

2- Explanation of the elements to be considered for the deviation by WSP

3- Presentation of similar work by FOURNIER

Myrzah Tavares Bello, Vice-President, Sustainable Development and Human Resources, comments: “We were humbly and openly receptive to the comments made by participants this evening. We will work to integrate the ideas and suggestions gathered.  We remain sensitive to the issues that are still outstanding, and will address them as we develop the project.”

If you have any questions or comments about the informations below or the Marban Alliance project, please contact Annabelle Brochu, community liaison agent, at (819) 355-1837 abrochu@o3mining.com.

For media inquiries, please contact Geneviève Tétreault, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, by telephone at 819-763-8161 or by e-mail at gtetreault@o3mining.com.