Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Feb 22/02) - An estimated 23,000 litres of leaked diesel fuel at CanTung Mine has been contained to the satisfaction of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Resource management officer Dan Quevillon visited the site, northwest of Nahanni Butte near the NWT/Yukon border, last Wednesday. Quevillon did find fuel seven to eight centimetres below a stretch of roadside gravel and soil nearly 150 metres long, less than a metre wide, said Ed Hornby, DIAND's South Mackenzie district manager. Other than needing to complete that additional cleanup, mine employees prevented the diesel from entering Sardine Creek, a tributary of Flat River, Hornby said.

"There's nothing we see that would indicate there's a basis for a charge here," he said. An inspector will make a return visit during spring melt, he said.

The mid-January spill is thought to have occurred when a mine employee left a valve open. Hornby said corrective measures, such as automatic shut-off valves, have been recommended.

Staff factor

Although DIAND didn't inspect the site until nearly a month following the spill, Hornby contended that the delay had nothing to do having just two resource management officers at the Fort Simpson district office.

He said North American Tungsten's response to the spill was adequate at the time.

"In response to questions both by myself and my staff from Fort Simpson, we were comfortable that we were hearing the right, consistent responses," Hornby said of phone calls immediately following the spill.

"We have no reason to believe they would be deceiving us about what they're reporting, in part because they don't know when the inspector will show up ... they have no way to know for sure that my officer isn't actually landing to see what they were telling me wasn't true."

With the departure of one of the two Fort Simpson resource management officers this week, Hornby said a replacement will be found as quickly as possible, but declined to speculate when that might be.

He said there is still a possibility that a third officer will also be added to the complement of staff, which is responsible for the Deh Cho region. He acknowledged that DIAND has been studying the staffing situation for several months.