Yellowknife (Apr 28/06) - Once a toxic soup that threatened to burst into nearby rivers, the Colomac gold mine site is on its way to recovery.

That's according to both the federal government and the chief of Behchoko (Rae-Edzo).

In fact, says project manager James Edwards, the water from the mine site is now safe to return to the surrounding environment.

Edwards and members of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs' contaminants and remediation directorate were in Behchoko Friday to update the community on the $110-million cleanup process.

"The water quality is one of the big success stories," Edwards said.

"We're starting to see water insects and other biology coming back into the lake."

The tailings pond was contaminated with cyanide and thiocyanate used to extract gold from ore. The mine operated from 1989 to 1997. When its owners, Royal Oak Mines, went belly-up, the mine became government property in 1999.

Behchoko chief Leon Lafferty said speakers at the meeting were supportive of the project, though they had concerns about the possibility of contamination and the project's timeline.

"Everybody came out of that meeting really satisfied with the way the clean up is going," he said.

Lafferty also said Behchoko youth need to be more involved in the cleanup process and long-term monitoring.

"They're going to be around longer than the elders will."

Edwards said the cleanup process is now a year ahead of schedule and should be finished by 2009. By then, all buildings and roads will have been demolished, although the site is too far gone to return to a natural state.

After that, the site will be monitored every five years, Edwards said.

The community also asked for meetings with DIAND every season instead of twice a year. Lafferty said the department will try to accommodate that request.