Mining in Remote Areas Issues and Impacts - MiningWatch Canada

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EnvironmentalImpactsMine’s seepage poses28 threat to river (VancouverSun, 02/12/88, B1)Only one year after Equity Silver Minebegan operating, the waste rock dumpwas already generating acidic drainage.Every second, about 30 litres of thetoxic liquid seeps from the base of thewaste rock dump.At the time, there was no collectionsystem for the AMD, even though Equityhad been advised that there was a potentialthe waste rock would be acidgenerating. The company has since builta system of dams, pipes and pumps tocollect and treat the acid mine drainage.Royal Oak fined for Back29 Bay pollution(Yellowknifer, 03/25/92, A3)The discharge of 3000 gallons of tailingssludge containing arsenic cyanide,copper, lead, nickel and other chemicalsoccurred after an operator at the companyattempted to pump the toxicsludge through a pipeline. The pipelineoverflowed while the operator left hispost to take a 30-minute lunch break.Mining’s dam problem30 (Globe & Mail, 05/16/98)There have been 25 major failuresof tailings dams since 1971, accordingto the World Information Serviceof Energy based in Amsterdam.Canadian companies have been responsiblefor three of the seven failures thathave occurred since 1994.“Tailings dams are supposed to lastforever,” said one exasperated mineconsultant, “but they don’t.”“Nobody wants to spend any moneyon tailings,” says Eli Robinsky, a Torontocivil engineering consultant and critic oftailings dams. “They’ve taken all thegoodies and now they throw all the junkin the back yard.”Weinstein, M. 1992. Just31Like People Get Lost: ARetrospective Assessmentof the Impacts of theFaro Mining Development onthe Land Use of the Ross RiverIndian People (Prepared for theRoss River Dena Council)Using interviews, oral histories, communitymapping and government documents,this report traces the environmentaland social impacts of the Faromine on the Ross River Dena people.For information on how to obtain acopy of the report, contact MartinImpacts from acid mine drainageAcid mine drainage impacts waterquality in a variety of ways. Acidityis harmful to many fish andaquatic organisms. Perhaps more importantly,many metals become mobileas pH drops (i.e., as water becomesmore acidic), and at highenough concentrations these metalsbecome toxic to most life forms.For example, acid mine drainageat the Mt. Washington mine on VancouverIsland contributes to theleaching of copper, which is the“dreaded enemy” of young salmonids(coho, pink and chum salmon fry,and cutthroat and steelhead fry). Accordingto Father Charles Brandt ofthe Steelhead Society, “It is a scientificfact that the amount of copperthat finds its way yearly into theTsolum watershed kills youngsalmon and deters adult salmon escapingback to the river tospawn.”(27)If the AMD was left untreated atthe Equity Silver Mine in northernBC, “people would no longer be ableto drink the water.” So says BrianWilkes, a chemical engineer with theBC Environment and Parks ministry.Copper levels in Buck Creek (thedrinking water source for area residents)would be 750 times higherthan the recommended level, and arsenic20 times the recommendedlimit. The water treatment systemrequired to neutralize AMD at theEquity mine site (now closed) coststhe company more than $1.2 millionannually. According to Wilkes, theflow of AMD at Equity could continuefor up to 150,000 years, therefore,the treatment system essentiallywill have to continue to operatein perpetuity.(28)Tailings: leaks, seepagesand breachesfine particles and mixed with waterand chemicals to extract the targetminerals. What is left – a liquidslurry containing the leftover rockparticles, water and chemicals usedin the processing – is usually pipedto specially constructed containmentareas, known as tailings ponds orimpoundments. In these impoundmentsthe wastes are held in byearthen dams or berms. In othercases, tailings are stored in prev i-ously excavated mine pits/shafts.Tailings are transported from themill to the tailings pond throughpipes or ditches. Water can be contaminatedwhen leaks develop in thepipes or when ditches overflow. Thisoccurred at Royal Oak’s Giant Minein Yellowknife, in 1992. More than3,000 gallons of tailings sludge containingarsenic (31-391 times the allowablelimit), cyanide, copper, lead,nickel and other chemicals were accidentallydischarged by the company.The contaminated slurry eventuallyoverflowed the drainage ditch andmigrated into Baker Creek and thenGreat Slave Lake, where people fromYellowknife both swim and fish.(29)Other causes of water contaminationinclude seepages through oraround tailings dams, and breachesor failures of tailings dams themselves.“Most of these things fall downwhen they are not built according todesign,” said Mike Campbell, executivedirector of the InternationalCouncil on Metals and Environment,an industry-based organization.However, even if designed properly(e.g., with adequate storage capacityand drainage), construction problemsmay lead to failures. Because damsare most often built of materialavailable at the mine site, there canbe considerable inconsistencies inquality.(30) Earthquakes, typhoons,heavy rainfall and spring melts alsoadd to the risks of dam failure. Andperhaps one of the greatest engineer-Tailings are the waste products ofthe milling process. During this process,the ore is crushed, ground into8 MiningWatch Canada
ing challenges faced by companieswishing to develop mines in remotenorthern locales is designing tailingsdams in permafrost soils.Impacts of tailings accidentsIn the past few years, there hasbeen a number of international tailingsdisasters.(30) In many of thesecases agricultural lands and otherproperties were contaminated, andin some cases, human deaths resulted.In regions where lands arenot used for agricultural purposes,tailings spills can damage the environmentin other ways, e.g., throughthe destruction of streams andfish habitat.Chemicals:leaks andspillsA minemay usethousandsof tonnes ofchemicalsevery year toextract thetarget mineralsfrom theores, or totreat the contaminatedtailings and processing waters. All ofthese chemicals have to be transportedto the site, and then a seriesof pipes and holding tanks are usedto move and store the chemicalswithin a mineral processing facility.Thus, there are many chances forspills and leaks.In 1981, there was a major sulphurdioxide spill (approximately41,000 litres) at Equity Silver Minein northern BC. The chemical foundits way into Buck Creek, and as aresult, residents living nearby weretold to stop drinking the water fromthe creek.(28)Other potential water contaminantsinclude fuels, oil, and sewage.The US Department of Justicerecently alleged that Cominco AlaskaInc. violated the federal Clean WaterAct by exceeding the allowable limitsfor metals and pH at their Red DogMine and at the mine’s Chuckchi Seaport. There were also allegations ofunpermitted discharges of sewagefrom a temporary housing facilityand more than a thousand violationsat Cominco’s sewage treatment systemat the port. Cominco spent morethan $4.7 million to settle the lawsuitout of court.(32)Mining is the source of sometimes severe streambed erosionErosion and SedimentationSoil disturbance is greatest duringthe mine construction phase. Theresulting vegetation disturbance, atmosphericdust and noise from constructionequipment are also likely tobe at their highest levels. Significantsoil disturbance can lead to increasederosion, and if enough water is flowingthrough the site large amounts ofsediment can be transported tostreams and lakes, creating high turbidityand blanketing creek bottoms.(33) As explained above, in the subsectionon road impacts, sedimentationcan adversely affect aquatic organismsEnvironmentalImpactsWeinstein (ph:250-339-4337; email:wstein@mars.ark.com).Alaska mining company32 agrees to $4.7 millionenvironmental settlement(US Department of Justicepress release, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/1997/July97/294enr.htm)Creek damage investigated:dirt from mine33constru ction runninginto water (Prince George Citizen,08/27/97, p.3)Dirt from the construction of RoyalOak’s copper mine in northern BC wasobserved to be running into KemessCreek, “muddying the water and blanketingthe bottom of the creek with silt.”It was a concern to environment officialsbecause the creek is home to bulltrout and Dolly Varden.“It could have harmful impacts on fishspawning and kill off the insects the fishfeed on,” said BC Environment officialDave Sutherland.Old mines are swallowingOntario: $300 million34needed to fence off or fillin sinking lands around minesites, ministry says (TorontoStar, 08/16/99)The threat of underground mine collapsessuddenly swallowing buildingsand vehicles and endangering peoplecould be the start of a $300 millionheadache for Ontario.Ontario has an estimated 6,000 suchsites, says Dick Cowan, the Sudburybaseddirector of mine rehabilitation forthe Ministry of Northern Developmentand Mines.Cowan says the ministry is hoping forapproval of a new program to make allthe sites safe, including their small andlarge abandoned structures.“The previous program ended sevenyears ago and now we estimate it willtake $300 million to do the job,” hesays.He says the 6,000 sites range from“significant mine developments to smallholes that open in the ground.”He estimates 40 per cent are oncrown land and 60 per cent on privateproperty.Mining In Remote Areas: Issues and Impacts 9
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Page 36: Photo by Lisa SumiAcidic drainage,

Mining in Remote Areas Issues and Impacts - MiningWatch Canada

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