Yellowknife (Mar 03/04) - John Buckland and his family are concerned about how long frozen arsenic will remain in that state.

He and other Yellowknifers were looking for clear answers on the management of the remediation process proposed for Giant Mine.

Yellowknife resident Ron Gibeault was interested in the expert's opinion about the water flowing from the tailings pond on the mine site into Back Bay. - Lisa Scott/NNSL photo

A public drop-in took place last Thursday on the method the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs will use to contain the 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide left over from 50 years of gold mining.

Buckland brought his young family along to inspect displays describing the frozen block method.

The longtime Yellowknifer wondered about the longevity of the freezing option.

"We're concerned about it. (My wife and I) work in the resource industry. We depend on that for a living," he said. "How many years are they going to keep it going?"

A wall of the lower boardroom at City Hall was devoted to suggestions of what to do with the land Giant Mine sits on.

Coloured sheets of paper proposed a golf course, more bike trails and even a race car track. Eight-year-old Mary Buckland strode up to the wall and pasted her request purposefully.

"I just don't want it to become another parking lot," she said.

Yellowknife resident Ron Gibeault was interested in the remediation process and came out to get the expert's opinions.

Gibeault is worried about any water from the tailings pond on the site flowing into Back Bay. He was assured the water is clear when it is released into the Bay, though he wondered why it wasn't diverted through a series of rivers or streams.

"I honestly don't know," he said.

Mayor Gordon Van Tighem was on hand to answer any questions about the boat launch that is scheduled to be in place by the summer.

The arsenic in the launch area had been raised as a concern in the past, but Van Tighem assured the public that it is now safe.

"It has been remediated to the best of the technology we have," he said.

The site has been filled with clean gravel and chip sealed to secure the arsenic.

As for the city-owned houses that sit on the mine site, Van Tighem says it's too early to tell if the former mine employees living there will be forced to move.

"There's no formal plan in place as to what's happening there," he said.

Van Tighem sits on the board of the Giant Mine Community Alliance, the body made up of community group representatives separate from government and industry, which organized Thursday's event.

Representatives from the City of Yellowknife, the Territorial Government, DIAND and the NWT Mining Heritage Society were on hand to answer questions at the event.