Panel & Secretariat Members Summary of Aerial & Ground Tours of Marathon PGM

Written by Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency on 09 November 2011

JOINT REVIEW PANEL & SECRETARIAT of MARATHON PGM MINE PROJECT (Stillwater Canada Inc.) TAKE AERIAL AND GROUND TOURS

MARATHON, ON– August 19th, the Marathon Joint Review Panel (the Panel) issued a letter announcing that a site visit of the proposed Marathon Platinum Group Metals and Copper Mine project (the Project) and surrounding area would be conducted by the Panel and its Secretariat and invited suggestions regarding what/where the Panel should consider visiting during the tour.

October 12th and 13th, members of the Joint Review Panel and the Panel Secretariat of Stillwater Canada’s proposed Marathon PGM Mine participated in a 2-day site visit, including aerial and ground tours, for their opportunity to view the project site, its features and the surrounding area. The tour was planned with the help of letters received from the Town of Marathon, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, on behalf of the federal departments, Citizens for Responsible Mines, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Lloyd and Linda Bryar, Red Sky Independent Métis Nation, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and from Pays Plat First Nation which provided suggestions regarding areas and features the Panel should consider visiting.

SITE VISIT SUMMARY (Provided by the Joint Review Panel Secretariat of the CEAA)

Taking into consideration the comments received, the site visit included an aerial tour and a ground tour of the proposed project and surrounding area. Considering the suggestions received during the comment period the Panel developed its itinerary for the site visit viewing many of the areas and features suggested by the parties, as outlined below.

ARIAL TOUR (Map 1)

October 12, 2011 the Panel members and the Secretariat staff viewed the proposed Project and surrounding area from a helicopter. The aerial tour allowed the Panel to view the landscape and topography of the project area, as well as a number of the lakes and landforms that could potentially be affected by the Project.

The table below outlines the route followed by the Panel and Secretariat, Maps outlining the aerial and ground tours follow below the tables.

Town of Marathon Tour (Map 2)

October 12, 2011 the Panel and Secretariat toured the community of Marathon to gain an understanding of the community and the services available in the town, as suggested by the Town of Marathon and Environment Canada.

Site Tour (Map 3)

October 13, 2011, the Panel and Secretariat toured the proposed mine site from the ground. The ground tour allowed the Panel to get an overview of the scale of the proposed mine site features and their relative locations. For safety reasons, the Panel and Secretariat were escorted around the site by a vehicle driven by a representative of Stillwater Canada Inc.

Map 3. Project site with access road (shown in yellow) and the two viewing locations, Malachite Hill and Two Duck Pond, which the panel visited during the site tour.