Phase one of clean-up project complete
TerraX works with community groups to clear away garbage along Vee Lake recreational trails on its Northbelt property
Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, October 23, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
More than 50 volunteers representing six non-profit community organizations converged on Vee Lake Road on Saturday to clear away decades of trash. The cleanup is part of a two-phase project facilitated by TerraX Minerals Inc.
Volunteers collect debris on Saturday on the Crestaurum Mine Road about 15 minutes north of Yellowknife. More than 50 people representing six non-profit community organizations and TerraX Minerals Inc. gathered at the site on Saturday to clear away illegally-dumped garbage and heavy debris left over from decades of mining operations in the area. - photo courtesy of David Connelly/TerraX Minerals Inc. |
The bush surrounding Vee Lake and Banting Lake is used by a variety of outdoor clubs and is also the site of TerraX's 3,562-hectare Northbelt property.
The company began collaborating with club volunteers to clean up the site after holding consultation meetings earlier this year to inform the community about its planned operations in the area stretching 13 kilometres north of Vee Lake Road.
The property has been the site of more than 30 exploration programs and mines since prospecting for gold began 80 years ago. Hundreds of old drill sites, discarded core boxes and machinery surround the mine sites. Rusty appliances, shotgun shells, Tim Hortons cups and other household garbage line the trails and roads, as well.
"There was a myriad of shotgun shells, Tim Hortons cups, hazardous chemicals such as antifreeze, broken bottles, beer cans, and propane tanks in there. It was pretty disgusting to the point where you didn't want to use it," said Ray Levesque, who sits on the Yellowknife council for the NWT chapter of Boy Scouts Canada, one of the six organizations involved in the project. "It's a lot better now that we've cleaned it up. It was a great effort. All the clubs came together. It was awesome."
In addition to TerraX and the Scouts, participating groups included Great Slave Snowmobile Trail Riders, YK Multisport Club, NWT Motor Sports Club, and Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society.
"We got as far as we could go on foot and with the vehicles we had. After that it will be more quad-related in toward the actual mine site," Levesque said.
TerraX is meeting with club representatives next week to plan the second phase of the project, during which the volunteers will revisit the site next spring or summer to remove the large items. The project organizers are negotiating with the City of Yellowknife over tipping fees for the larger items. The city supplied garbage bags and waived tipping fees for the six truckloads of household waste collected last weekend.
In addition to benefiting from the cleaner trails, the clubs will receive donations for their labour from a pool of funds made up of $12,000 in donations from area businesses and $12,000 matching dollars pledged by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"We are committed to a new model in Yellowknife. A project where healthy outdoor recreation and a major contributor to the economy safely co-exist and respect the environment within a 15 minute drive from home," stated Joe Campbell, president and CEO of TerraX, in a news release on Monday. "With multiple uses there will be bumps along the way. However, working together to remove safety hazards, clean up the environment, and de-conflict the uses of roads and trails, while funding local user groups, is a great start."
The Northbelt property had been dormant for 20 years, but TerraX is kick-starting new exploration interest at the site. The former owners, Royal Oak, lost control of the 121 Northbelt mineral leases north of Giant Mine through a bankruptcy, allowing TerraX to buy them up last February for about $250,000.
TerraX is analyzing historical core from 200 drill holes previously stored at the Giant mine site, the assay results from the majority of which have never been made public by past operators.
Based on the results of this year's studies, TerraX plans to apply for permits to continue exploration at Northbelt.
