As reported by the CBC, the Long Lake Gold Mine Remediation Project near Sudbury, Ontario will not be getting started until 2019.
The Province on Ontario first announced its commitment to remediate the abandoned gold mine back in 2013. The lake, located near a popular recreation area, had high levels of arsenic.
Long Lake Gold mine operated intermittently from 1908 to 1937 and produced approximately 200,000 tonnes of tailings. The tailings were discharged directly to the environment without containment. The tailings have since eroded into Luke Creek and Long Lake. The tailings are acid generating and leach acidic water that is high in metal contamination, specifically arsenic. The Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNMD) sampling in the south end of Long Lake identified arsenic contamination above the Ontario Drinking Water Standard.
Long Lake (Photo Credit: Markus Schwabe/CBC)
The MNDM initiated a review of remediation alternatives to clean up the tailings area and has selected a preferred method of relocating all fugitive tailings to a new containment facility that will be constructed on site. The objective of remediation efforts is to reduce the arsenic concentration in Long Lake below the provincial drinking water limit, such that water quality in the south bay of Long Lake will recover to background conditions.
The latest delay in the remediation project is the result of the MNDM addressing some concerns of nearby residents who are concerned that the clean-up will result in increased truck traffic on the existing road to the lake.
The chair of the Long Lake Stewardship group says residents are aware of the notion “short term pain for long term gain” when it comes to the completion of the remediation project.
“But I think the concern I heard was the number of trucks that would be travelling on the road, day-in and day-out through the restoration phase,” Scott Darling said.
“Primarily what I heard in terms of the concerns were the traffic, the increased traffic that’s going to occur over the two-year period on Long Lake Road and Tilton Lake Road and South End Road — the wavy trail.”
Roads in the area will see 50 to 60 trucks a day hauling out contaminated material and bringing in clean fill.
The remediation project is expected to run between two and three years.
Darling says it could be closer to 2019 before the project gets started.
More information on the proposed clean-up of the Long Lake can be found in the MNMD environmental assessment document.
