Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 18/99) - There are options out there to deal with arsenic and DIAND is seeking out experts to shed light on what they are.

A three-day Giant Mine Arsenic Trioxide Technical Workshop will be held at the Explorer Hotel, June 22-24. Attending will be close to 40 scientific, environmental, aboriginal and government experts.

Their collective task is to zero in on the most promising and appropriate methods of handling the Giant arsenic problem.

"They will discuss what is already known about the arsenic trioxide at the mine, explore the management and disposal options developed to date, and then evaluate them to determine which are the most promising and appropriate for Giant mine," a Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development release stated.

The 260,000 tonnes of arsenic under Giant mine is contained by 15 vaults, the deepest being about 85 metres. DIAND regional executive advisor Dave Nutter said the 15 existing vaults are "very close to being full." A 16th vault is under construction.

"It's a massive amount of material so the challenge of dealing with it is you can't take an existing technology off the shelf and use it at Giant," Nutter said.

The delegates will discuss arsenic treatment regimes such as ways to store the arsenic permanently by sealing the vaults, stabilizing or solidifying the compound so it's no longer toxic, and bio-leaching, which is a method of using bacteria that eat arsenic.

Seven complex options for dealing with the arsenic will be explored. In the meantime, the mine is still being operated by the interim receiver and arsenic is still being pumped underground.

Nutter said that if a mining company were to take over the mine, changing the system that is currently in use is not, at this point, a condition of operation.

"We do recognize that there's a strong interest in not seeing the roaster continue to operate, but at this stage there are few options and those that are available are very costly," Nutter said.

"Other options, like using an autoclave, would involve substantial infrastructure costs so (a buyer) would be looking at a capital investment upfront of tens of millions of dollars."

That said, it's known that there is large amounts of gold still trapped in the arsenic dust which may interest some companies.

"Some parties feel they can (extract the gold from the arsenic) economically as a viable business venture and we're looking closely at the implications of going that route," Nutter said.