Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 24/00) - Almost half of the federal money budgeted for environmental reclamation work at Giant mine has been redirected to Colomac.

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development had originally planned to spend about $450,000 on Giant this year. Most of the money was to be put toward studies and testing to make way for the actual surface cleanup.

"I think in the end we will spend about $200,000 at Giant and the balance will have gone over to work at Colomac," said DIAND Royal Oak group spokesperson Dave Nutter.

Originally, $1.5 million was to be spent on Colomac this year. By the end of the fiscal year, that will have increased to close to $2 million, said Nutter.

"A fair bit of that expense is putting in the winter road and bringing in supplies, a substantial amount of fuel for the coming year, the chemicals to deal with the cyanide in the tailings," said Nutter.

"Not so much of it is actual physical work on the property, but bringing in the materials and equipment so that we can do the work this coming summer."

Both mines were owned by Royal Oak Mines. Canadian taxpayers were saddled with environmental responsibility for the mines last December, after Royal Oak went bankrupt and no buyer was found who would accept the huge environmental liability attached to both mines.

By the end of this month, test results will be in on tailings samples taken from the shore and lake bottom of Back Bay near the Giant mine site.

Tailings from the mine were stored on the shore in the 1950s. Over time, the shore eroded and the tailings slid into the shallows of the bay.

"The main thing we're testing for is the presence of mercury and the acid generating potential of the tailings.

"The testing we're doing is just to confirm what we already believe to be the case, that there is not mercury in the tailings and there is not acid generation potential."

Nutter said there is no evidence of either mercury or acid generation in the tailings. Testing of fish in the bay has revealed no elevated levels of mercury.

The department plans to cover the tailings with clay and rock. If there is found to be mercury or acid generating potential in the tailings, Nutter said "more elaborate" methods of remediation would have to be explored.