http://www.supplyroad.ca/images/Webequie%20Supply%20Road%20Draft%20ToR%20Report.pdf

Important:  Read pages 30 - 38

These pages highlight the advantages/disadvantages to the various modes of transportation discussed on this forum in the past.  Comments made indicate why certain modes were dismissed, and why others are now being considered.  Of particular interest to us within this ToR PDF is the mention of the E/W corridor as the preferred route of transportation to Webequie, and the Ring of Fire.  I have done my best to copy / paste this information; Pages 36 - 38.

Text from PDF (Pages 36 - 38

Noront Resources Eagle’s Nest Mine Access Road In 2013, Noront Resources completed a draft Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Statement for their proposed Eagle’s Nest nickel/copper/platinum mine in the McFaulds Lake area. As previously noted, the Noront draft EIS/EAR was not completed, nor was it circulated to provincial agencies for comment, but comments from federal agencies were received by Noront. At present, the EIS/EAR is on hold/pause until there is more certainty about a potential all-season road.

The Noront environmental assessment examined access alternatives, as follows: › Alternative road routes that would connect the mine to the provincial highway system: o North-South connection through Nakina via Highway 584; o Eastern connection to the DeBeers Victor diamond mine; potential port facilities at the Attawapiskat First Nation; and connection to the James Bay coast winter road, with connection to rail facilities in Moosonee; and o East-West connection to the Pickle Lake Road (previously Highway 808) and Highway 599 near Pickle Lake.

This analysis identified few advantages of the Eastern connection to the Attawapiskat First Nation and the James Bay coast winter road over the more significant advantages of the East-West and North-South road options.

The comparative analysis of the East-West and North-South alternatives identified the Pickle Lake/Highway 599 connection near Pickle Lake, Ontario as the preferred route for several key reasons: o Interconnection to a trans-modal transportation facility with rail interconnection, at Savant Lake, for transportation of concentrate to processing facilities located in the south; o Overall lower costs and shorter construction period; Webequie Supply Road Environmental Assessment Draft Terms of Reference 661910 September 2019 . 37 o

Potential for several First Nations to connect to the road, providing interconnection to the provincial highway system, the end of geographic isolation and potential economic development opportunities; o Fewer major watercourse crossings (lower cost and potential environmental effects); and o No traversing of provincial parks. ›

Alternative road types between Eagle’s Nest and Highway 599/Pickle Lake Road were considered: o All-season road; o Combined winter road/all-season road;  Winter road connection between Eagle’s Nest and Webequie Junction south of the Webequie First Nation; 

All-season road between Webequie Junction and Pickle Lake Road/Highway 599;  Slurry pipeline between Eagle’s Nest and Webequie Junction to transport concentrate to load-out facilities at Webequie Junction. An all-season road connecting to the Pickle Lake Road (previously Highway 808), connecting to a transmodal load-out facility on Highway 599 near Savant Lake, Ontario, at the CN Rail corridor, was selected as the preferred alternative for the following reasons: ›

Capacity to accommodate higher truck traffic volumes along the entire roadway throughout the year than winter road only, or winter road/all-season road combination; › Lower environmental effects as a result of permanent structures, compared to annual construction disturbance with a winter road; and ›

Higher reliability for concentrate haul and the delivery of goods and services. In identifying route alternatives for the Eagle’s Nest mine access road, it was intended to maximize use of existing winter road corridors to minimize additional clearing and environmental effects. The preferred alignment was selected by optimizing constructability, environmental effects and costs. Following the existing winter road alignment, with some revisions to enhance constructability, is considered a significant advantage over the establishment of a new corridor.

The preferred all season road corridor identified in the 2013 EIS/EAR is shown on Figure 5.3. As noted previously, the EIS/EAR for Noront’s Eagle’s Nest Mine project is on hold and, when reactivated, will exclude consideration of an all-season road connection to the provincial highway network, as it has been assumed that this will be developed by others based on the Province of Ontario’s pledges of funding for infrastructure (mainly roads) in the Ring of Fire area.

The current status of the Eagle’s Nest Mine project can be found on Noront’s website (http://norontresources.com). Webequie Supply Road Environmental Assessment Draft Terms of Reference 661910 September 2019 . 38 Figure 5.3: Noront 2013 Proposed Eagle's Nest All-Season Transportation Corridor Source: Noront Eagle’s Nest Project Federal/Provincial Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Assessment Report – Executive Summary (Draft Copy) (Noront, December 20, 2013)

In addition to providing the least cost, least impact route from Highway 599/Pickle Lake Road into the Eagle’s Nest mine site, with the addition of connecting community lateral access roads, the selected mine site access road also provided potential all-season access to the provincial highway system for Webequie First Nation and other First Nations proximate to the proposed road, including the Nibinamik, Neskantaga and Eabametoong First Nations.

From the Webequie First Nation perspective, this corridor provided community benefits. The community would have all-season access to the provincial highway system with the addition of a community lateral connection from the Webequie Junction directly north to the Webequie reserve lands and the airport. In addition, the community would have potential year-round economic development opportunities related to the transportation of goods and services between the Webequie Airport and the Eagle’s Nest mining facility.  

TM....Quick assessment