Selected Projects

Project Name	Description
Traditional Knowledge Panel Facilitation   Client: Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (DDMI) Location: Diavik Mine & Yellowknife, NT	DCE is providing a northern-based facilitation team, including a LKDFN member, to assist the DDMI Traditional Knowledge (TK) Panel in generating recommendations on mine closure and monitoring. These recommendations inform closure objectives and criteria for the Diavik mine site, as required by regulators. Our team is working closely with DDMI community engagement and technical operations specialists to gather and apply TK in closure design and activities. The TK Panel consists of Elders and youth from DDMI’s five PA Communities: Kitikmeot Inuit Association, LKDFN, North Slave Métis Alliance, Tłı̨chǫ Government, and YKDFN. Project tasks include, reviewing technical closure information; developing session agendas; coordinating and leading group sessions with 15 people in 4 translated languages and capturing recommendations and key themes discussed; note taking; notes summaries including recommendations, edit and verification before finalization and presentation to DDMI, preparing session reports.
NorZinc Environmental Services   Client: NorZinc Ltd. Location: Nahanni Region, NT	NorZinc Prairie Creek Mine is a zinc mine located within the Nahanni National Park and is heavily regulated by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB) and Parks Canada. NorZinc applied for permits to construct, maintain, and operate a 170-km long all-season road extending from the Prairie Creek Mine site to the Nahanni Butte access road. As part of the construction of the road DCE was retained to support development of environmental compliance programs to ensure adherence with MVLWB Environmental Management Plans (EMP). Additionally, DCE is supplying on-site biologists responsible for oversight of construction activities and executing and ensuring compliance with EMPs.​
Ekati Diamond Mine – Arctic Canadian Diamonds   Client: Arctic Canadian Diamonds Ltd. Location: Ekati Diamond Mine	Arctic Canadian Diamonds Ekati Diamond Mine is in the Lac de Gras region of the Northwest Territories, approximately 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 200 km south of the Arctic Circle. Currently, active mining is taking place at Ekati along with ongoing project exploration and evaluation, including an innovative mining technique that could be used to extract deeper resources which would extend the life of Ekati’s production for many years. DCE was retained by Arctic Canadian Diamonds to provide technical support on environmental monitoring programs such as avian monitoring, caribou behavioral surveys, wildlife camera monitoring, fish habitat assessments, seepage sampling, stream diversion, and compliance site inspections.
Giant Mine Remediation Project - Aquatic Biological Services   Client: Parsons Inc. ​Location: Yellowknife, NT	The Giant Mine Remediation Project (GMRP) is addressing legacy contamination from gold mining activities in Yellowknife, NT. The mine site is adjacent to Great Slave Lake (GSL), with a tributary of GSL, Baker Creek, crossing the site. Mining operations generated significant quantities of arsenic trioxide dust as a by-product contaminating the surrounding environment. As part of the GMRP blasting adjacent to Baker Creek was needed creating potential for arsenic contamination entering Baker Creek.   DCE was retained by Parsons to conduct an aquatic baseline assessment of Baker Creek, relocate fish downstream from the exclusion zone adjacent to the blasting, monitor water quality, and quantity in accordance with the GMRP Erosion and Sedimentation EMP and Water EMP. In addition, ongoing monitoring of total suspended solids and observation for fish impacted by blasting activities were conducted to allow for adaptive mitigation of any potential impacts to Baker Creek.
Giant Mine Remediation Project - Third-party Sampling and Laboratory Testing Client: Parsons Inc. ​Location: Yellowknife, NT	The objective of the GMRP is to manage contaminated materials, mainly arsenic, associated with historical gold mining operations at the site and support construction of infrastructure required for the execution of the Project. DCE was retained by Parsons to provide ongoing materials testing, inspection, sampling, laboratory analysis, and associated reporting services for the entire GMRP. This work package includes geotechnical and engineering materials testing and environmental materials testing.   This scope of work includes geotechnical materials testing (mainly soil and aggregate material) as well as environmental soil and hazardous materials testing. Specifically, the scope encompass soil environmental sampling and testing, aggregate and soil quality sampling and testing, solid waste sampling and analysis, compaction testing, bituminous geomembrane inspection, and concrete/grout/fill quality testing. DCE has supported multiple work packages associated with the GMRP to date, one of which is the construction of the Non-Hazardous Waste Landfill (NHWL) at the Site, as well as the AR1 Freeze Pad construction project component. The NHWL is being constructed to contain non-hazardous waste materials for the GMRP and freeze pads associated with AR1 are required to install the thermosyphons required to freeze arsenic trioxide impacted materials in place.   In addition to geotechnical materials testing services, environmental testing and sampling activities have included collecting soil samples from excavation extents, soil piles, and contaminated areas for field screening and laboratory analysis of metals (including arsenic) and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs). Field screening of soil samples includes measuring organic vapours using a gas detector and measuring metals (total arsenic in particular) concentrations via a portable X-ray analyzer. In addition to supporting field activities and coordinating laboratory analyses, the scope of the Project requires adherence to rigorous health and safety protocols and the preparation of daily, weekly, and monthly reports, which summarize the sampling and testing activities completed for work packages that are in progress.​
Ndilo Community Engagement and Soil Sampling Program   Client: Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) Location: Ndilo, NT​	The project began out of discussions between Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) to help alleviate anxieties around the presence of arsenic in soils around Ndilo. The project includes a community engagement scope as well as a soil sampling program. Through door-to-door engagement, residents of Ndilo, were provided with the opportunity to have the soil around their residence sampled and analyzed for the presence of arsenic.
Giant Mine Remediation Project – Surface Care and Maintenance Contract   Client: Det'on Cho Nuna Joint Venture Location: Yellowknife, NT	Det'on Cho Nuna Joint Venture (DCNJV) is the Surface Care and Maintenance (SCM) Sub-contractor at the GMRP. DCE was retained by DCNJV to develop a detailed EMP to ensure compliance to GMRP regulatory approvals and to provide an Environmental Coordinator (EC) to be the steward of the EMP at the GMRP for SCM activities. The EC provides environmental oversight to keep SCM activities aligned with GMRP EMPs and site Licenses and Permits. The EC conducts regular compliance inspections across the Site to ensure that erosion, sedimentation, and dust generation related to DCNJV construction activities are mitigated. Regular visible dust checks are performed at active work sites and roads while visual inspections for scouring, and erosion are completed along flow paths and discharge locations. The EC is also responsible for recording wildlife sightings and conducting pre-activity vegetation inspections. The EC maintains all waste inventories pertaining to DCNJV activities and performs weekly checks of hazardous waste and chemical storage areas while reporting any issues directly to the mine manager.
Bathurst Caribou Management Plan Technical Review and Engagement   Client: Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) Location: Yellowknife, NT	The Bathurst Caribou Herd is an important resource to the Yellowknives Dene and the people of the North. The herd’s population has been steadily decreasing since the 1980s, and in response the Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee has created management plans to assist in encouraging the recovery of this herd. In 2019 the Bathurst Caribou Range Plan (BCRP) was released, and in May 2021 the draft Bathurst Caribou Management Plan (BCMP) was released for comment. As members of the Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee, YKDFN was asked to review the BCMP and engage with its membership to provide feedback to GNWT ENR.   DCE was retained by YKDFN to complete a technical review of the BCMP and provide plain language guidance to YKDFN staff and Chief and Council throughout the process. The BCRP was also considered as it is complementary to the BCMP. As part of this work, DCE worked closely with YKDFN staff to coordinate meeting logistics, prepare plain language presentations and other materials, and engage with Chiefs and Council as well as the overall community on the BCMP and its objectives.