TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Project developer Arianne Phosphate has received a favourable outcome from public hearings conducted by Quebec’s Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE) for its Lac à Paul project, in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, signalling that the provincial government would issue its approval soon.

The BAPE review was the last in a process that a company had to undergo to receive its final permitting. With this report now concluded and its positive assessment in hand, Arianne was confident that it had met all of the conditions required to obtain its final decree and was confident that the Quebec government would issue the decree without delay.

"We are especially pleased that the BAPE report raised no major objections to the development of our project, suggesting to us that there would be no reason for the Quebec government to withhold support for the project. Furthermore, we were gratified to see the commission highlighting many of the positive attributes associated with the Lac à Paul project,” chairperson Pierre Fitzgibbon stated.

Ahead of receiving its ministerial decree, Arianne noted that it had already seen the tabling of various initiatives to support the project, the most recent being the development of a multi-use ecological park by the county municipality of the Fjord du Saguenay. Further, in immediate response to the positive findings from the BAPE, numerous groups had already weighed in to ask the government of Quebec to issue the decree immediately, Arianne said.

The Lac à Paul deposits were expected to produce a high-quality igneous apatite concentrate grading 39% phosphorus pentoxide, with little or no contaminants.

"The BAPE's questions surrounding the method by which the development of a port and the process to be followed were expected given the scale of our project. Lac à Paul transcends federal and provincial jurisdictions and we understand the BAPE's view that it be handled in a precise and effective manner.

“Ultimately, we believe the BAPE report and its positive conclusions have paved the way for Arianne to receive its final decree from the Quebec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, approving mine construction. In anticipation of the final decree, we continue to work on optimising the project costs, reviewing our financing options and advancing discussions with potential strategic partners,” COO Jean-Sebastien David said.