Sabina commenced the Environmental Assessment of the Project in June 2012 with the submission of a Project Proposal to the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB). Sabina received the Project Certificate (PC No. 007) for the Project from the NIRB in December 2017, and the Project’s Type A Water Licence (2AM-BRP1831) from the Nunavut Water Board (NWB) in November 2018. Since receipt of the NIRB Project Certificate in 2015 and the NWB Type A Water Licence in 2018, Sabina has continued to advance Detailed Engineering and additional field work related to Construction, Operations, and Closure of the Project. Through these efforts, Sabina has identified modifications that will further optimize and de-risk the Project. These Modifications are: Section 2. Goose Property Section 2.1. Goose Property Airstrip Extension Section 2.3. Umwelt Underground Extension Section 2.2. Goose Property Total Water Use Increase Section 3. Goose Property Waste and Water Management Section 3.1. Waste and Water Management Infrastructure Section 4. Marine Laydown Area (MLA) Section 4.1. MLA Fuel Transfer Area Section 4.2. MLA Airstrip Extension Section 5. Marine Laydown Area – Shoreline Pad Extension Section 5.1. MLA Shoreline Pad Extension Section 6. Winter Ice Road (WIR) Section 6.1. WIR Subbase Upgrade Section 6.2. WIR Service/Emergency Camps Section 6.3. WIR Total Water Use Increase Sabina assessed each proposed Project modification with respect to Project regulatory precedence, community engagement and traditional knowledge, key management and mitigation measures, as well as modification-specific effects assessments. The Modification Package effects assessment was guided by the same approach used for the Back River Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS; Sabina 2015) and FEIS Addendum (Sabina 2017b). Sabina has also included discussions in this Application related to the Modification Package cumulative effects, Sabina’s Self-Assessment guided by the NIRB Modification Guideline (NIRB 2018), and key compliance considerations for this Application. Results from the Modification Package effects assessment identified minimal change to the FEIS residual effects, and no change to the overall significance ratings for the FEIS residual effects. Sabina has therefore determined the Modification Package will result in no significant changes to the overall environmental or socio-economic effects previously predicted for the Project. Sabina reviewed each proposed Project modification against the NIRB Modification Guideline (NIRB 2018), and it is Sabina's view is that these proposed Project modifications are considered minor in the overall scope of the original Environmental Assessment, and that cumulatively, this Modification Package Application be considered a “Non-Significant” amendment to the Project, with screening not required.