Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

DEH CHO - Forty tonnes of cyanide, the cause of long-standing environmental concerns about Prairie Creek Mine, have been removed from the site.

Between July 25-28 the cyanide was flown from the mine in a Buffalo twin-engine aircraft. It took 11 loads to remove the more than 900 over-size steel drums containing the chemical, said Alan Taylor, vice-president of exploration and the chief operating officer for Canadian Zinc.

Residents of Nahanni Butte including Jean Marie Konisenta, left, George Betsaka, William Konisenta and Eileen Ekotla, along with Dave Harpley, vice-president of environmental affairs for Canadian Zinc, were brought to the Prairie Creek Mine to watch the cyanide removal process. - photo courtesy of Canadian Zinc

The drums were flown to Fort Simpson where they were loaded onto trucks belonging to HAZCO, the company that designed and executed the removal program. The bulk of the chemical will be sent to a cyanide destruction system in Barrie, Ont. The remainder will go to the Swan Hills Treatment Centre in Alberta for disposal, Taylor said. Taylor called the removal an "expensive exercise." The two-part process came with a $300,000 price tag. The cost was split evenly between the airlift and the process completed last year in which the 50-kilogram steel containers filled with cyanide were placed in new steel drums certified for transport of dangerous goods.

The cyanide, which was brought to the mine between 1980-82 by the site's previous owner, created a legacy of controversy for Canadian Zinc. Both conservation and First Nations' groups raised concerns about what would happen if the chemical ever found its way into the water system.

"We understood the concern that's around it and we wanted to address the concern," said Taylor.

In the last three years Canadian Zinc determined they wouldn't need the cyanide for the milling process and looked for a way to remove it from the site. The company didn't have to remove the cyanide but decided to as a way to improve the company's image, Taylor said.

Originally the company planned to truck the cyanide off the site over the winter road but a delay in the permitting process for the road led the company to use an airlift.

"Now that the issue is dealt with we hope we can earn some more support from people who were concerned about it," said Taylor.

Marie Lafferty, president of the Fort Simpson Metis Nation, said the removal doesn't mean she'll support the mine, but it's a positive step.

"I'm just very, very relieved it's finally gone," Lafferty said.

Lafferty has been a longstanding critic of the presence of the cyanide at the mine. She's raised the issue at numerous venues including multiple Dehcho First Nations' meetings.

"It's bothered me for over 25 years or more," she said.

Lafferty's primary concern was always about the effect the cyanide would have on the surrounding area and water safety if it ever leaked.

"It's irreversible. It would ruin the whole valley," she said.

Lafferty said she feels better knowing the cyanide is gone.

"It's a huge problem out of the way," she said.