Caution urged as mining companies eye critical minerals below Quebec boreal forest

“In the boreal environment, the forest decomposes very slowly, even more slowly than in the tropics,” said Xavier Cavard, who holds a research chair in forest carbon management at the Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue. That means that instead of being released into the environment as carbon dioxide, carbon remains in the soil as dead organic matter.

The construction of roads and the clearing of land to build mines will release carbon that has been stored for centuries, but the quantities remain unknown. “Will there be enough mining to affect the ecosystem’s functions, such as carbon sequestration?” Cavard wonders. “It’s hard to say at this point, but we have to be vigilant.”

He said extracting critical minerals to manufacture batteries and emissions-free electric vehicles sounds like an obvious benefit for the environment. “We forget to mention that to build it, it will be necessary to exploit mines, whether in Abitibi or further north, which generates a lot of carbon dioxide during exploitation,” he said. “Moreover, after the exploitation, there is no biodiversity left on the mining site.

Cavard agrees that the many roads planned by La Grande Alliance to allow mining companies to exploit the northern part of the boreal forest represents “a major issue” for caribou, which he said are extremely sensitive to the fragmentation of their habitat. “In 2023, one might think that this is the kind of thing we would try to avoid in Quebec,” he says.

An interim report on the environmental impacts of La Grande Alliance states that “the ability to ensure that such infrastructure does not provoke development in areas that are sensitive environmentally, culturally or increase risk to vulnerable species is of great importance in avoiding conflict between development and all communities.”

Part of the memorandum of understanding ensures the creation of a system of protected areas that will cover 30 per cent of Cree territory by 2030. “The Crees will therefore delineate what they want to protect for their hunting and cultural heritage,” said Universite Laval’s Munson. “The caribou is vulnerable, but they are the ones who have the best knowledge on how to protect it.”Article content

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