Abstract

The Cariboo Gold Project is proposed to be developed in Wells, BC, a community of 218 people, located in Central, BC. This abstract is a brief inside look at a turning point that led to the success of the technical (presented by Victor Gauthier) and regulatory teams (presented by Kelsey Dodd) through the Environmental Assessment process.

Since 2016, the Project team has engaged with the local community, providing Project updates, design information and education on modern mining practices. Hundreds of comments from residents were received during the process, many expressing displeasure with the location of the Mine Site Complex, planned 200m from the nearest dwelling.

Quickly throughout the process, it was agreed that there was a significant need for the regulatory team to align with the technical team on the engineering aspects of the Project components. The regulatory team pushed (read as "demanded") the need for further explanation to the community while the technical team pushed back (read as "stood their ground") that the location and infrastructure had been decided and were not changing. After some time, it was determined critical that both disciplines work together to properly explain the technical aspects to local community members.

From there we had to adjust and reevaluate the entire angle of the engagement process. We began the difficult, but necessary work of explaining how our project would operate to local community members, many of whom had limited knowledge of modern mining practices. Through presentations, such as Mining 101, and discussions with the community, we received a lot of feedback towards the real needs and worries of the community.

The enthusiastic community engagement led to heated discussions internally as we learned each other's constraints. With our different backgrounds and lenses through which we viewed the challenges, we had many disagreements, both on the way forward in the process, but also the chosen concept. The design team was pushed to thinking outside the box by testing the community's ideas and presenting the pros and cons of the options they came to us with, back to them, with thorough explanations and illustrations showing all potential benefits and impacts (social, environmental and economic).

In the background, egos were set aside (by the technical team) and apologies made (by the regulatory team) as it was determined that some of the work done for the community benefit and knowledge would lead to updated design decisions and a commitment to refinements. 

On October 10, 2023, Osisko Development Corp. (ODV) received an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the Cariboo Gold Project, the first under the 2018 British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act. Refinements continue to be made based on ongoing discussions, for the benefit of the community, the company and other stakeholders.