6 June 2018
Vancouver, British Columbia, June 11, 2018 - Canadian Zinc Corporation (TSX: CZN; OTCQB: CZICF) is pleased to report continued progress on permitting the long-term, all-season road access to the Prairie Creek Mine.
Canadian Zinc (“CZN”) has now submitted its formal replies to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairsto address all five information requests (“IR’s”) related to the implementation plans for various mitigation measures and proponent commitments contained in the Mackenzie Valley Review Board’s Report of Environmental Assessmenton the proposed All Season Road to the Company’s Prairie Creek Mine (“the Review Board REA”).
As requested in the Minister’s IR’s,CZNis working with the local Dene communities to address the implementation of various measures recommended by the Review Board.
Key concerns which CZN and local Dene communities are addressing collaboratively include (a) sharing and incorporation of Dene knowledge and values into project design, (b) ensuring the Dene communities will be partners in environmental, wildlife and cultural monitoring of the All Season Road, and (c) addressing the Dene communities’ requests for support to participate in implementation of the measures recommended by the Review Board and the commitments made by CZN in the environmental assessment process.
All Season Road Environmental Management Agreement
As part of this engagement, the Naha Dehé Dene Band (“NDDB”) and ?íídl?? K????First Nation(“LKFN”) have entered into a Process Agreement with Canadian Zinc. The Process Agreement provides for the negotiation of an Environmental Management Agreement.
This Environmental Management Agreement will involve Dene participation in the environmental management process, a cornerstone of which is a Dene-led independent monitoring program. The Environmental Management Agreement will provide for Dene communities’ review, participation and oversight of environmental monitoring of the All Season Road during permitting, design, construction, operation and closure phases, and the implementation of the mitigation measures contained in the Review Board REA.
The Dene communities and CZN intend that the Environmental Management Agreement will provide for a consultative and cooperative approach to environmental management of the All Season Road that will establish appropriate responsibilities of the NDDB, LKFN and CZN in the development, project design, on-going review and monitoring, as well as modification of follow-up programs to mitigate potential effects on the environment and to provide transparency and oversight to local communities.
The proposed Environmental Management Agreement is intended as a formal mechanism, which has been tested in other projects to be utilized in addition to regulatory instruments to provide for indigenous participation in environmental management, and to ensure that the mitigative measures and environmental protection commitments in the Review Board Report are appropriately implemented.
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