Yellowknife's Giant Mine cleanup costs to double
New documents show arsenic-contaminated site will take close to $1B to remediatePosted: Mar 27, 2013 8:47 AM CT
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2013 10:42 AM CT
Giant Mine, located just outside of Yellowknife, is one of the most contaminated sites in the country. About 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust is buried under the site
In the Northwest Territories, new documents show the cleanup costs for Yellowknife’s arsenic-contaminated Giant Mine site will be close to a billion dollars.
That's double what officials with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development have said it would cost to remediate the former gold mine. The cleanup plan is currently in the final stages of an environmental review.
Kevin O'Reilly is with Alternatives North and was one of the people who pushed for an environmental assessment of the cleanup plan. He obtained the new information through an access to information request.
The documents show the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development revised its cost estimate in March of 2012 — six months before public hearings on the cleanup.
more:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2013/03/27/north-giant-mine-cleanup-cost-doubles.html____________________________________
PM announces conclusion of Northwest Territories devolution negotiations -- 11 March 2013
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that negotiators have reached consensus on the terms for the devolution of lands and resource management from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories. He was joined by Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council, and Bob McLeod, Premier of the Northwest Territories... Devolution in the NWT will mean the transfer of decision-making and administration for land and resource management from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories. The territorial government will become responsible for the management of onshore lands and the issuance of rights and interests with respect to onshore minerals and oil and gas. It will also give them the power to collect and share in resource revenues generated in the territory.
pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=5347EKOS POLL REVEALS GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT FOR PLEBISCITE ON DEVOLUTION AGREEMENT (March 14, 2013)
— Alternatives North commissioned EKOS Research Associates, a reputable national polling company, to conduct a telephone poll of NWT residents on devolution of lands and resources management to the Government of the Northwest Territories.
www.alternativesnorth.ca/Portals/0/Documents/MediaRoom/NewsReleases/2013%2003%2014%20Alternatives%20North%20Devolution%20Poll%20News%20Release.pdfwww.alternativesnorth.ca/March 12, 2013. The natural resource royalties are expected to bring in about $65 million a year for the territory, of which 18 per cent will go to the five aboriginal governments that have signed on to the deal.
www.ctvnews.ca/canada/n-w-t-devolution-could-bring-territory-65m-in-yearly-royalties-1.1191106#ixzz2OnE12r3H____________________________________
Environmental worries linger as NWT set to control resources
Last updated Friday, Mar. 08 2013, 3:44 AM EST
But Stephen Kakfwi, who was premier from 2000 to 2003, said on Thursday that the deal has been negotiated without the input of the general public, and there are concerns that the environment and preservation of the land will take a back seat to the exploitation of energy and minerals.
“The fear is that in the future, the government will always be keenly interested in getting oil and gas activity and mining activity going with less concern for the socioeconomic impact and the environmental impact of these projects,” Mr. Kakfwi said in a telephone interview.
A prolonged period of public consultation will take place before the agreement goes into effect in March or April, 2014.
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/nwt-set-to-assume-control-of-resources-but-environmental-worries-linger/article9492749/Giant Mine Remediation Project
As part of our ongoing risk management of Giant Mine, the Project Team conducted a structural assessment of the A-shaft headframe, located near the Giant Mine townsite. The work, being done by Structure All Ltd. out of Yellowknife, took place at the end of February. The structure appears to have shifted, so the Project Team is assessing its stability to ensure the safety of the site and the adjacent roadway. The A-Shaft is not being taken down at this time.
The Remediation Plan calls for the long-term storage and management of the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in sealed chambers and stopes underground using the Frozen Block Method
www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100027364/1100100027365Frozen Block Method
There are 14 underground chambers and stopes (mined out cavities) that contain the arsenic trioxide dust. These will be carefully frozen to create an impenetrable barrier that will prevent water from entering the chambers and arsenic from leaving the chambers.
The freezing will occur in stages over a number of years to ensure that the chambers and surrounding rock are completely frozen. The department will ensure that the site is safely managed throughout the entire process, and long-term, regular monitoring of the chambers and stopes will continue after the freezing is complete.
more:
www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100027419/1100100027420Brief Review of the Giant Mine Arsenic Mess
www.stopajaxmine.ca/blog/brief-review-of-the-giant-mine-arsenic-messToxicology - Arsenic trioxide (As
2O
3) is readily absorbed by the digestive system: toxic effects are also well known upon inhalation or upon skin contact. Elimination is rapid at first (half-life of 1–2 days), by methylation to monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsonic acid, and excretion in the urine, but a certain amount (30–40% in the case of repeated exposure) is incorporated into the bones, muscles, skin, hair and nails (all tissues rich in keratin) and eliminated over a period of weeks or months.
The first symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning by ingestion are digestive problems: vomiting, abdominal pains, diarrhea often accompanied by bleeding. Sub-lethal doses can lead to convulsions, cardiovascular problems, inflammation of the liver and kidneys and abnormalities in the coagulation of the blood. These are followed by the appearance of characteristic white lines (Mees stripes) on the nails and by hair loss. Lower doses lead to liver and kidney problems and to changes in the pigmentation of the skin. Even dilute solutions of arsenic trioxide are dangerous on contact with the eyes.