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Abandoned Mines in Canada: the MiningWatch Canada Strategy

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Provincial governments responsible for mines in their jurisdiction ... Zinc/copper mine 1943-61. Metals in Kamikotia River. Sediments in river. contaminated ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Abandoned Mines in Canada: the MiningWatch Canada Strategy


1
Abandoned Mines in Canadathe MiningWatch Canada
Strategy
2
The Problem in 1999
  • Over 10,000 abandoned mines in Canada
  • Very little public awareness of the issue
  • Provincial governments responsible for mines in
    their jurisdiction
  • Federal government responsible for uranium, and
    mines in north
  • Little political will to do anything

3
Britannia Mine
4
Britannia Mine Pouring AMD (Acid Mine Drainage)
into Howe Sound
  • Discharge from old adits
  • at 2200 and 4100 levels
  • Metals-contaminated tailings
  • flowing into Howe Sound
  • Contaminated ground-water
  • Former infrastructure

5
Faro MineOver 250 million and counting
  • Lead/zinc mine, operated 1969-1998
  • 3 large open pits
  • Waste rock dumps
  • 57 million tonnes
  • of tailings
  • Seepage from
  • tailings pond

6
Giant Mine237,000 tonnes of arsenic tri-oxide
7
Giant Mine
  • 237,000 tonnes of arsenic tri-oxide stored in 15
    underground chambers
  • On surface, arsenic contaminated
    buildings,tailings and oils, asbestos
  • Produced 7 million ounces of gold 1948-1999
  • Plan is to freeze the arsenic and surrounding
    rock underground
  • Tailings covers, demolish buildings

8
Giant Mine bulkhead
9
Colomac Mine
10
Colomac
  • 222 kms north of Yellowknife
  • Operated 1989-1997
  • Tailings area full to overflowing cyanide,
    ammonia, metals
  • Affecting food chain, caribou and fish

11
Hollinger MineThreatening Timmins
12
Timmins Sinkhole 2005Crown Pillar Collapse
13
Kam KotiaMore acidic than battery acid
  • 6 million tonnes of acid-generating tailings
  • Zinc/copper mine 1943-61
  • Metals in Kamikotia River
  • Sediments in river
  • contaminated
  • Run-off pH1.8-2.5
  • Over 55 million

14
Mt. Washington MineDestroying a 2 million/year
salmon fishery
15
Port RadiumLeaving a village of widows
16
Port Radium
  • Mined for silver and radium 1929-1940 for
    uranium 1942-1960 for silver 1964-82
  • 1.7 million tonnes if uranium and silver tailings
    on site (contained) and in Great Bear Lake
    (uncontained)
  • Remediation plan being prepared

17
Deloro Miners100 years of miningonly toxins left
18
Deloro MineArsenic and radioactivity
19
The context
  • A series of shocking problems with mines
  • 1987- Highway collapses at Cobalt
  • 1990- Matachawan tailings dam breaks
  • 1995- Mt Washington destroying fishery
  • 1996- EMCBC calls attention to Britannia, others
  • 1997-1999- a number of mines go bankrupt in the
    North
  • ICME commissions paper on reclamation bonding
  • MMSD report 2001

20
Governments beginning to pay attention
  • 1993- Canadian Council of Ministry of the
    Environment issues report on contaminated sites
  • 1998- Canada-Wide Accord on Environmental
    Harmonization affirms polluter pays principle
  • 1999 Ontario announces 27 million for cleanup
  • EMCBC petitions Commission for Environmental
    Cooperation about Britannia, Mt. Washington and
    Tulsequah Chief

21
Our strategy
  • Research all available information
  • Build public awareness of issues and particular
    mines inform our colleagues, media
  • Make the federal government pay attention to the
    issue briefs to cabinet lobby with others
  • Develop a national task force with public
    servants and industry

22
What We Did
  • Raised hell about individual mines
  • Hired W. O. Mackasey to research inventories
  • Distributed the papers to eight federal cabinet
    ministers and the press
  • Called for
  • A National Inventory
  • A transparent system for ranking hazards
  • Emergency response Mechanisms
  • A funding mechanism to recover costs from the
    industry

23
National Orphaned and Abandoned Mines Initiative
(NOAMI)
  • In early 2000, set up a meeting with Mining
    Association of Canada
  • Agreed to work together to get federal and
    provincial governments aware and involved
  • Complete disagreement on polluter pays
  • Conference with communities, industry,
    federal/provincial governments, and
    Auditor-Generals office in June 2001

24
Planning the Winnipeg Conference
25
NOAMI Accomplishments
  • Web site www.abandoned-mines.org
  • Conference on assessing liability and funding
    approaches November 2005
  • National database researched and will be in place
    this fall
  • Finished four major reports
  • Funding Approaches
  • Legal and Institutional Barriers to Collaboration
  • Community Involvement (case studies)
  • Establishing a National Database

26
Green Budget Coalition
  • Worked with an Ecological
  • Fiscal Reform Coalition
  • to put forward the
  • Clean Canada Fund
  • Intensive lobbying
  • with other groups

27
Building the Pressure
  • Conference with Assembly of First Nations
  • Reports on Full Costs and Mining in the Boreal
  • Other NGOs take on specific sites
  • Giant CARC (Canadian Arctic Resources
    Committee)
  • Faro and Mt. Nansen YCS (Yukon Conservation
    Society)
  • Kam Kotia Northwatch
  • Port Radium Dene of Deline
  • Renabi Missinabie Cree

28
Federal Government Responds
  • Auditor-Generals report November 2002
  • Treasury Board demands accounting from
    departments
  • August 2003 CEC report slams federal government
  • Series of articles syndicated December 2003
  • March 2004 federal accounting changes
  • Budget January 2004 175 million for abandoned
    mines clean-up
  • Budget April 2004 4 billion for federal
    contaminated sites

29
Indications of Success
  • Money available and work begun on federal mines
  • Aboriginal communities involved in cleanup
  • Some provinces have announced money for clean-up
    25 million in B.C, 27 million in Ontario

30
Challenges
  • Making sure the federal money is well spent
  • Making sure reclamation costs are covered
  • Getting polluters to pay the costs
  • Getting proper remediation of sites
  • Getting each province to act

31
Future Strategy
  • Ensure we know what governments are doing in key
    cases
  • Highlight on-going problems through media,
    colleagues
  • Provide support to communities (technical
    assistance, publicity, networking)
  • Continue work with NOAMI provincial laws,
    polluter pays, reclamation bonding

32
Schist LakeBefore and After Closure
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