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James Hrynyshyn
Northern News Services
If accepted by the minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Canadian Zinc's proposed pilot project -- essentially a bulk sample to explore the mineral potential of the site -- will have to meet 15 conditions set by the board.
The project, on the same site as the Cadillac Mine that was finished but never put into operation before the company went bankrupt in 1982, is likely to have "a significant adverse impact on the environment" without the modifications, said the board.
Among the more troubling elements of the project identified by experts from Indian and Northern Affairs, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada, among other agencies, is the 20-year-old tailings pond. If ruptured, it could spill millions of litres of contaminated water into Prairie Creek, wiping out vulnerable populations of bull trout, and despoil the pristine South Nahanni River, which has hundreds of canoeists paddle its length each year.
The board wants a geotechnical assessment of the tailings pond and tank farm, which is reportedly leaking fuel; a contingency and monitoring plan for waste ore; detailed metal scans of the mine's effluent; evidence of the company's financial ability to meet conditions of its water licence; updated flood predictions; and a response plan for interactions with bears and other wildlife, among other changes.
Mine officials could not be reached for comment. But environmentalists who have been campaigning against any development in the watershed surrounding the Nahanni National Park Reserve said they are not convinced CanZinc can adequately protect the ecosystem.
Kevin O'Reilly of the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee in Yellowknife said Tuesday any industrial development that close to the park is a threat. "This is clearly a mine that should not be put into production," he said.
