Members of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation (CCN) are concerned about something that they are calling ‘Huckleberry Soup,’ in reference to the discharge that Huckleberry Mine Ltd. (HML) is permitted to flow into Tahtsa Reach.

According to CCN the mine sits directly on its traditional territory.

Bill Mracek, HML’s mine manager said that the mining company purchased the land from the Crown, and it was sold as Crown land.

“Any claims for traditional territory beyond that purchase would have to be taken up with the Government,” he said, adding that he was aware of several First Nations groups that have claimed the land as their traditional territory, including the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, the Skin Tyee Band and the Cheslatta Carrier Nation.

In October 2005, HML applied for an amendment in order to change mining operations from a fully contained open pit mine, to a mining operation that would be allowed to discharge supernatant [the clear liquid that lies above a sediment or precipitate] from a tailings pond known as TMF-2 directly into Tahtsa Reach, an arm of Ootsa Lake.

According to CCN the amendment conditions or permit never proposed any treatment of the supernatant before it was to be discharged into Tahtsa Reach.

“They [HML] just flung a big pipe over the side of the mountain to drain the tailings pond directly into the waters of Tahtsa Reach, the effluent from the TMF-2 tailings pond is not even treated before it hits the water,” said Mike Robertson, CCN’s senior policy advisor.

Bill Mracek noted that there is more to the process than that, saying that HML has strict guidelines and environmental checks and procedures in place.

Ron Robichaud, HML’s environmental coordinator said that they have numerous monitoring systems and environmental restrictions which are overseen by both staff and independent consultants.

“The company does monitor discharge cycles. The water is monitored at every stage, before it’s discharge and after,” said Robichaud.

“We also test the temperature of water in Tahtsa Reach to determine the direction of flow, to see where the water moves and we test the lake’s stratification, we collect ongoing data. While this lake can be challenging due to its sediments from the drowned trees, we make the best possible decisions from the data that we collect,” he said.

“All reports and data is then required to be given to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and Environment Canada, which is federal,” he said.

“These reports are then made publicly available,” Robichaud added.

“The mining industry is heavily regulated and reported, everything we do requires permitting, and strict regulations,” said Mracek.

According to Robertson the rate of discharge from TMF-2 is substantial and CCN feel that consultation with them was not sufficient.

“The amendment resulted in a permit issued to HML on July 15, 2006 that would discharge at maximum of 48,600 m3 (12,830,400 million gallons) per day of supernatant from TMF-2 into Tahtsa Reach,” he said.

“When we viewed the original amendment that was presented to us, it was an application for 20,000 m3 of discharge, which we opposed. Then the amendment was changed by HML to allow for a greater volume (48,600 m3) to be discharged and we were not advised of the change until later,” Robertson said.

“If one person pees in a swimming pool it doesn’t make much difference to the water quality, but if 50 people pee in the water it would become polluted very quickly, the volume of waste that is allowed to be discharged into Tahsta Reach is much like that analogy,” said Robertson.

“Before the amendment was permitted, previous direct discharges from the tailings impoundment facility were explicitly prohibited,” he added.

CCN informed the MOE that they were concerned about the volume of the discharge and they would want the tailings pond water to be treated prior to its discharge into Tahtsa Reach.

“The MOE responded favorably on both concerns,” Robertson said.

“The MOE informed us they were considering a maximum discharge of 1.4 million gallons per day and the MOE also appeared willing to work with us on our suggestion of a water treatment system.”

However, according to Robertson on Aug. 1, 2006 CCN received a letter from the MOE advising them that the permit had been issued and the discharge would be allowed to go ahead.

“The discharge [when it began] showed a significant draw down of the TMF-2 tailings pond,” noted Robertson.

Mracek said that he was aware of CCN’s opposition to mining operations in their entirety and had made numerous attempts to open up the mine in order for the CCN to gain a better understanding of the mining operations.

“We have invited members of CCN, including Robertson out to the mine numerous times, several times our invitation was accepted by Robertson, then he backed out. On one occasion we had hired a bus for them to travel in which had to come from Terrace, but no one from CCN showed up, there was no phone call as to why, and we were left with the bill, which we didn’t mind paying, but it was frustrating that we were paying for something that was not even used,” Mracek said,

“That same invitation is still open to CCN and is also open to any citizens that are concerned about HML’s operation, we are open to visits, all people have to do is phone ahead and make arrangements,” he added.

“When people come out and see what our operation entails, and see how monitoring is done, it is easier to understand,” Mracek said.

“There has never been an official CCN delegation to HML,” said Robertson.

“I have flown over several times, and I have visited the site before the mine was built,” he added.

“Robertson also confirmed that CCN has been invited out to HML stating, “CCN has been invited out [to HML] but it has never worked out, the last time there was a death in the community.”

“This is the first I have heard of a bus being hired for CCN. I would have been the one to arrange [the bus]. I was in the hospital from early March to early May 2006 so they may have made arrangements during that time, but I have never heard of this before,” Robertson said.

According to Robertson HML have always been open for a CCN visit.

“I do not know of any plans to visit HML in the near future,” he added.

“We [CCN] are very concerned with the state of Tahtsa Reach and the change in the permitting to allow the discharge to flow into Tahtsa Reach, this was to be a fully contained operation,” said Robertson.

Robichaud noted that the original plans for the mine were to fully contain the tailings run off, but operations have expanded and environmental conditions such as a high volume of snow melt run off have forced the mine to make the changes.

“You make the best predictions that you can with the science that you have,” said Robichaud.

“Over time the stockpiling of fresh water run off has necessitated the need for discharge to allow for the release of excess water,” he said.

“It is not tailings that is going out to Tahtsa Reach, it is excess water that is held within the impoundment, the area is simply being de-watered, there was a lot of water being held in this area.”

“Expanding mining operations have also necessitated the need for the de-watering of TMF-2,” said Robichaud.

“The saddle area in the mid-section of HML was planned to be mined as part of the extension process, as TMF-2 is located beside the saddle area, TMF-2 has to be de-watered in order to keep any water from flowing into the proposed pit.”

Currently water in the mine is collected in a few locations, TMF-2, the east pit tailings area and another pond which is currently not in use.

“All PAG [potentially acid generating] rock is immersed, NAG [non acid generating] rock is then placed on top then a layer of sand is used, then another layer of water goes over the top, immersing the PAG rock in such a way neutralizes the PAG rock and stops oxidation as there is no air for the oxidation to occur,” said Robichaud.

“The tailings that are in TMF-2 are NAG tailings. NAG rock was also used for the TMF-2 dam construction, NAG rock has a buffering capacity, we have qualified consultants involved in the building of the dam. We also have the ability to de-sulphurize tailings,” he said.

“The water from the east pit tailings pond, which is currently not considered suitable for discharge is recycled through the mine, and used over again for mining operations.

“Both the tailings and the water that are not suitable for TMF-2 are put into the east pit tailings area, the mine constantly re-uses this water and this area acts like a huge settling pond, all the solids sink to the bottom, and the water sits on the top, we also monitor this water regularly and have a boat that we use to carry out some of the testing process,” said Robichaud.

“The majority of the water that we use is re-claimed water, but fresh water is also added to the process,” he added.

While all the water at the mine is constantly tested the discharge from TMF-2 is not treated.

“The discharged water is not treated, because it does not need to be treated. The water meets the guidelines that were put in place by the MOE, the water quality is more than suitable for discharge, it does not need to be treated or filtered and it meets permitted discharge limits without being filtered,” said Robichaud.

“We can run the water through the CO2 plant that we have, but currently this is not needed, we have not needed to add CO2 for several months now,” he added.

“Our water is tested at every point. We also have annual environmental effects monitoring,” said Robichaud.

At this point we have no plans for a further tailings pond, however if the mine continues beyond 2012 or 2013 we may need another pond.

“We have allowed at the beginning planning stages for a TMF-3 pond, but this will only be required if operations extend,” said Mracek.

On a recent trip out to the site CCN collected water samples and vegetation samples that have now been sent off to a testing facility in Vancouver to independently find out what the cumulative effects are on the water.

CCN Chief, Corrina Leween said: “After visiting the site of the Huckleberry mine out-take line into Tahtsa Reach I am worried.  I personally took samples of the water and of the surrounding plants and earth. “

“All these elements are important to the survival of this system and to those that rely on the area for sustenance and recreation. This area is historically significant, one of our elders was born in the area adjacent to the Tahtsa Lake. Our people have used this water for travel and hunting for generations,” said Leween.

“The lake has suffered enough.”

“First with the flooding, then the mountain-pine beetle epidemic, and now the dumping directly into the lake.  CCN’s fight to stop this dumping has fallen on deaf government and corporate ears.  Now we have come to a situation where we will take the necessary steps to investigate and follow-up to save this pristine area and fight to ensure there is no contamination of the water system.  As a leader I would like to draw public awareness to all residents of this province that this water flows into your back yards all along the Nechako.  Once the operations at HML are complete all will be packed up and we are left to deal with the long-term impact of possible contamination.”

“The trees surrounding the pipe are covered in a white powdery substance, we don’t know what this substance is yet,” she said.

“We swim in, fish in and drink this water,” said Leween.

“This is a source of great concern for the CCN,” said Leween.

According to Robichaud HML staff too, drink the water from Tahtsa Reach.

“We get all of our fresh water intake from Tahtsa Reach, we all drink the water, it is our fresh water supply for camp,” Robichaud said.

“The discharge water is screened and meets B.C. water quality objectives and meets federal guidelines, we also have environmental effects monitoring programs by both federal and provincial governments for pre- mine, mine and post mine operations,” he said.

“Getting water regulated is a lengthy process.”

“With all of our monitoring we can pin point exactly where problems lie, before the water is pumped out the water is screened and has to meet a network of regulations,” said Robichaud.

“We have had a few little blips, but they have been rectified, we monitor PH levels and have installed a C02 plant to bring down the level of PH when we need to, there are streams in this area that naturally emit very high levels of PH,” Mracek said.

The mine’s effect on the animals in the area are source of concern to the CCN

“This is an osprey area, there are osprey nests right near the discharge area and they also eat the fish from this lake, the effects are far reaching and accumulative,” said James Rakochy, CCN’s land and resource manager who also went on the trip to the discharge site.

“We are concerned with the compounding impacts of years of discharge,” said Rakochy.

Gary Blackwell, Ootsa Lake resident and guide outfitter said he too has been to the discharge site.

“Just after the ice went off this year I was down there [Tahtsa Reach discharge site] in my boat and there was a 50 ft circle of thick brown foam about six inches in height in that area, it looked bad,” said Blackwell.

According to Robichaud the regulations are stringent.

“At the end of mine life TMF-2 will be capped off and a little lake will be left, the area will look like a big wetland area, we are aiming for two metres of water over the sand, which is the required amount, at the end of the mine life everything will be properly submerged and re-planted. Our goal is to leave the area as it was or better,” Robichaud said.

“At the end of mine life the water will be completely safe for animals to drink, the area surrounding the discharge is also fine now for animals. I would swim in Tahtsa Reach with no problems,” added Robichaud.

According to Mracek the mine is a great benefit to the community.

“There are over 20 people from Burns Lake employed at HML which produces copper, molybdenum, silver and a small amount of gold for the Japanese and European markets. HML has over 200 high paying jobs for employees from the local area. There are also spin off jobs created and money for towns. We purchase as much as we can locally, when the mine life is completed the area will feel the loss,” he said.

“It is unfortunate, but that is how it is with mines,” Mracek added.

Original Article ]]> http://ledzep.biz/aga/?feed=rss2&p=681 0 http://ledzep.biz/aga/?p=678 http://ledzep.biz/aga/?p=678#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:46:11 +0000 tomschmidt http://ledzep.biz/aga/?p=678 Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp., the Idaho-based parent company of Coeur Alaska Inc., announced Friday that AIC and Kake Tribal Corp. will be its contractors to complete the final component of the companies’ Juneau-area Kensington Gold Mine.

“We are pleased to make this award to these highly skilled Alaska-based union contractors and look forward to bringing Kensington into production next year,” said Tom Henderson, general manager of the mine, in a statement.

Kake Tribal is one of several members of the alliance that founded BBC Human Resources Development Corp., which preps job seekers for employment with Coeur Alaska.

The electrical work for the project is being awarded to ALCAN Electrical & Engineering, Inc., based out of Juneau.

The mine is expected to employ as many as 300 workers during construction, and approximately 200 during operations.

The announcement did not include hard hiring or construction start dates, but said the contractors “are available for immediate mobilization of personnel” and reiterated that mine production is expected to begin in third quarter of 2010.

Construction had been held because of disputes between mine interests and environmentalists. Disposal of tailings, the ground-up waste rock left over after metals are removed from ore, was the subject of years of cooperation, initially, which turned to rankling after Coeur abandoned the environmental groups’ preferred tailings disposal method. The dispute ultimately led to a U.S. Supreme Court case that was decided in June in Coeur’s favor.

Coeur plans to dump the tailings into Lower Slate Lake and treat the water flowing out to Berners Bay; the environmental groups sought a wetland disposal option that would preserve the lake.

Original Article

BTTS FACT: June 2009 US Supreme Court were called upon to verify The Coeur Alaska’s right to develop the area, even though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently renewed its threats to veto the project.

The outcome can be a lot better as this means that the 3 0 0 + likely mine employees in Alaska will not be happy to wait any longer to start working. Think about it, most conservation groups have no opposition to the mine itself, but instead to the method that Coeur Alaska intends to dispose of the tailings (waste rock).

BTTS FACT: The intended method, supported by both the Supreme Court and the Army Engineers, would involve dumping the tailings into Lower Slate Lake. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), a supporter of the project, has claimed this will improve the fish habitat in the long run. This would be because the area of the lake will be increased after dumping, and once mining ops finish, the waste will be sealed beneath four inches of concrete.

Now, this is where the Environmental groups come in and opposes the lake-dumping method, which they believe will permanently poison the lake’s waters. This is in combination with the EPA and others who have argued that dumping of mining waste into Lower Slate Lake violates the Clean Water Act. This sets an example for further violations as other organizations seek to imitate Coeur Alaska’s actions.

The confidence that the state has in The Coeur Alaska cleanup promise now becomes questionable, given North America’s rich history of mining company bankruptcies and consequent abandoned cleanup operations. [This can link with blog posts – there are many on polluted, abandoned mine sites]

However, the other alternative would be that the EPA has positioned itself in a method that the tailings are then transformed into a paste and dumped at a site upland. It is still uncertain if this “dry-stacking” would be an environmentally friendlier option in the end, but then again it would prevent immediate destruction of freshwater habitats.

Regardless, Lower Slate Lake will certainly be the dumping ground after Friday’s decision on part of the Army Engineers, unless a comprehensive action is taken by the EPA to veto the decision under the provision of the Clean Water Act (seems unlikely). One should keep in mind that any such action from the EPA regarding The Supreme Court’s support of the current proposal, would turn what is already a controversial issue into a complete war between industry and environment.

Sorry no happily ever after in this scenario… but stay tuned Signed: BTTS

Xstrata: Fourth largest producer of copper founded in 1926

CEO: Mick Davis

Profits  down from US$2.77 billion to US$643 million a year later

Anglo American: Gold mining, largest platinum and diamond producers founded in 1999

CEO: Cynthia Carroll

Net income dropped to 2.97 billion from 4.28 billion a year earlier

*A 40 billion merger proposal from Xstrata*

The suits at Anglo do not seem to be on  board, as the proposed offer did not seem fair towards the shareholders and “lacked strategic merit”. Yet, they cut 19,000 jobs in order to have save that 2 billion dollars worth of costs by 2011.

I think they should just with and merge as one has to take into account the commonalities,  such as the similar stock exchange valuation, both of their revenues fell by a third and operating profits by two-thirds. Neither Xstrata nor Anglo is paying any sort of dividends and finally, both have similar debt levels.

You would imagine that this would be a perfect match, and the combined assets along with clout in the market would make them that much stronger as a team.This would also provide the additional capital for larger projects with less risk of that monetary pressure.

Other then the “what’s in it for us mentality”, another obstacle can be that the management styles do differ:

Xstrata = Decentralized >> Putting responsibility within the coal face is to be preferred, and the operational managers are then rewarded

Anglo= Centralized in such methods as procurement>> Where group buying power helps keep procurement costs down

Bottom line, like in any merger the egos must be set aside and management styles must be combined in order to get that best of both worlds adaptation.

The Prosperity Deposit is a huge copper/gold deposit in B.C. Information on the site can be found here.

Members of the National Council of Canadians stopped in at Williams Lake and Fish Lake recently, where they met with the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and talked about the impact of the proposed Prosperity Mine.

Meera Karunananthan, the national water campaigner at the Council of Canadians, and Harjap Grewal, the regional organizer for B.C. and the Yukon, attended a gathering hosted by the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation at Onion Lake, near Fish Lake.

Karunananthan says that according to Taseko Mines Ltd.’s Environmental Impact Statement, Onion Lake will be affected within a 66-year span due to groundwater leakage if the mine goes ahead.

She also has concerns about Fish Lake being drained.

“They’re talking about draining a lake, which shouldn’t be allowed,” she says. “This is a fish-bearing lake.”

She says Fish Lake is one of 16 lakes on an Environment Canada list slated to be drained or used as a tailings impoundment area for a mine, and if communities, including Williams Lake, allow that to happen then the last will grow since it would set a precedent.

“It’s an important message that Williams Lake will send to the rest of the country if they turn down this proposal to destroy Fish Lake” she says.

Brian Battison, Taseko’s vice president of corporate affairs, says Taseko expects there to be good water quality in the tailings facility that would be built upstream from Fish Lake.

“There is nothing in our water modeling that suggests we have a detrimental affect on groundwater,” he says. “We are required to prove all of this to regulators and to the public as part of the EA (Environmental Assessment) process, and we’re doing that now.”

He adds that groundwater moves slowly and can be easily monitored through wells. Taseko would monitor its movement and test its quality. If it doesn’t meet the standards, the water would be kept at the facility, although Taseko expects the water would be of high quality and suitable for rainbow trout habitat like the facility at Gibraltar Mine.

He says the lake and the deposit are side by side, with the lake being immediately upstream from the pit. Harvesting the minerals, he says, requires the lake to be drained.

“We’re not using Fish Lake to store tailings,” he says.

As far as residents setting a precedent for showing support or lack of support is “too simplistic of a view to take,” he says.

“There happens to be a deposit there that’s valuable, that’s worth money. It’s worth economic development opportunity for many people,” he says, adding that the judgement people need to make is if the proposal is in the public interest and if it is a good use of “this public asset.”

Karunananthan says Prosperity Mine wouldn’t deal with the unemployment in the community.

“And they’re destroying the natural resources in the community,” she says, adding that it’s not clear in Taseko’s plan that the company would hire people from the community.

“Speaking to people from the community, they’re not confident that these are the jobs that will suit the needs of the community,” she says, adding that she spoke with the local Council of Canadians, the Labour Council, and members of the Xeni Gwet’in Nation.

“People fish in that lake. People hunt the game in that area,” she says. “There are animals there that depend on the lake. The mining company claims to be willing to train people for jobs for the next 20 years, but in doing so, they’re destroying a way of life that has existed for a very long time prior to their arrival.”

Battison says hiring practices would be consistent with delivering and maximizing economic value and social benefit, locally, regionally, and provincially.

Since there may not be many metallurgists in Williams Lake, Battison says they will likely come from somewhere else.

But there would many other jobs available locally, he says, such as equipment operation, equipment machinery, materials handling, accounting, office support, mechanics, electrician jobs, plumbing, and janitorial, as well as cooking, house keeping, and laundry services jobs that would be required for the 500-man mining camp.

He says there would also be jobs in the area of providing fuel, materials delivery, couriers, and bus drivers to take the employees to work.

He says there would also be secondary jobs created that would come from servicing employees and their homes, such as providing new and used cars, washing machines, and dryers, for example, that would create economic spin-offs as a result of Taseko spending $800 million to construct the mine and another $200 million every year to operate the mine.

He notes that providing jobs to local people is a priority, but that the responsibility rests on those who want to work.

Those wanting a career in mining or servicing the mining business may need to take the necessary steps to make that possible, he says and refers to the Mining Your Future program.

“Like any employer, we try to hire the best people we can, and we want the best people to come from the local region.”

Original Article

The Missouri Attorney General’s office is investigating St. Francois County residents’ complaints about Doe Run Co.’s efforts to clean up piles of debris left over after decades of lead mining, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Chris Koster said Friday.

The county was once the heart of Missouri’s Old Lead Belt region that supplied much of the nation’s lead. Left behind are tons of debris known as tailings, some standing 30 stories high, others spread out over several acres of land. The tailings are contaminated with lead. Exposure to lead can cause stunt growth of children, result in lower IQ and cause other developmental problems.

Concerns prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to designate the region as a Superfund site. St. Louis-based Doe Run owns the old mines and is responsible for cleanup.

Nanci Gonder, a spokeswoman for Koster, said an investigation will look at Doe Run’s use of treated sewage to spur plant growth on the tailings. Residents and state Rep. Linda Fischer, D-Bonne Terre, have also complained about the pace of the remediation effort.

John Carter, manager of mining properties for St. Louis-based Doe Run, said the company has not been contacted by the attorney general’s office about an investigation. But he defended the cleanup effort.

“We’ve done a lot down there,” Carter said. “Most of our employees of the remediation program and a lot of Doe Run employees in general live there. So the company has been part of the communities there for a long time.”

Of particular concern to many residents has been the effort to grow grass on a tailings pile at Leadwood. Since the tailings pile is too big to haul away, the goal is to cover it with grass so that the tailings don’t blow in the wind into neighboring yards or wash into streams or rivers.

To help grass grow, Doe Run allows the spraying of treated sewage, or biosolids, which act as fertilizer on the 53-acre Leadwood site. Doe Run and the EPA say the sewage is safe, but residents who live near the site say it seeps into their yards and creates an unpleasant odor.

“Sometimes you can smell it really, really bad,” said Christy Briley, whose back yard is adjacent to the Leadwood site. “When I pick up my dogs from my fenced-in yard, they smell like raw sewage.”

EPA is considering an alternative to the use of biosolids: Bringing in lead-contaminated soil from nearby Jefferson County and placing it on top of the tailings pile at Leadwood. But many residents are opposed to that plan, too, saying they don’t want contaminated soil from another county.

Carter blamed delays on the struggling economy, including a work force reduction earlier this year that put the remediation effort on hold. He said the company hopes to resume the work by October.

Original Article

Dewey-Humboldt’s Town Council Tuesday requested that a federal agency hold off on its proposal to transfer 150,000 tons of toxic manganese mill tailings from rural Maricopa County to the Iron King Mine in Humboldt for processing.

In a 6-1 vote with Councilman Terry Nolan dissenting, council directed staff to send a letter to the Bureau of Land Management stressing the town’s objection to the move until BLM completes a study on the safety and sustainability of the Iron King.

Minex LLC, a company that operates a mill 10 miles south of Aguila, Ariz., where the tailings originate, initially submitted the request to BLM, but no one from Minex attended Tuesday’s meeting.

“I wanted to see a Minex representative here and find out who we were dealing with,” Mayor Len Marinaccio said. “We have no problem with a business that’s conducting itself in compliance with the law and getting proper permits. But we need to have a high level of confidence in that business to move forward.”

In April, BLM officials conducted X-ray fluorescence sampling on the tailings, which BLM Field Manager Steven Cohn said are “significantly above the Arizona non-residential soil remediation levels and BLM’s risk management criteria.”

Manganese is a naturally occurring gray-white metal with key industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steel. However, doctors have linked human exposure to manganese dust and fumes to impaired motor skills and brain disorders in children.

“There is a vast sea of ignorance about what will happen if we approved this transfer,” Councilman Floyd Wright said.

Town staffers say the trouble with the BLM request is that the Iron King Mine, which sits next to BLM lands off Highway 69, and the Humboldt smelter nearby remain on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund hazardous waste cleanup list.

EPA remedial project manager Leah Butler, who attended Tuesday’s meeting and alerted council of the BLM/Minex proposal, is putting together a reuse assessment for the mine and smelter sites. The assessment will help property owners and town officials decide future land uses for those spots.

BLM proposed transferring the aforementioned mill tailings from the Ambrosia Mill site near Aguila, Ariz., to the Iron King Mine for processing over a 13-year period.

With the EPA’s assistance, Butler said Dewey-Humboldt could hire an environmental expert to assess the dangers of the proposed project.

“A lot of the concern has to do with where these materials are coming from,” Councilwoman Denise Rogers said. “Will this cause additional problems? We need more data.”

However, Nolan, who owns property near the Iron King Mine site, said Minex has been doing minimal processing on private property at the mine for the past two years and it has caused no problems. He cited a BLM environmental assessment of the tailings, which says the materials would create “no critical concerns” to land and water here.

“The material would be covered when it’s loaded (in Maricopa County) and when it arrives (at the mine),” Nolan said. “There would be no hazardous waste generated on-site. Everything’s contained in the processing. It’s a win-win situation.”

Town Manager William Emerson said his staff is not familiar with Minex’s current processing at the mine. He added that the processing might be taking place at the former North American Industries site or at the Iron King Mine, both of which are within the Superfund cleanup area.

Emerson said Mindi Cross, solid waste inspections and compliance unit manager at ADEQ, has notified the EPA about potential dumping of manganese tailings at the Iron King.

Earlier this year, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality filed a lawsuit against the company that owns the Iron King site and its operators, brothers Clayton and Warren Kuhles. ADEQ alleges 10 violations at the Kuhles’ Iron King landfill, which the Kuhles have denied.

“Staff is not sure how Minex relates to the Kuhles’ activities, but the site is at least vulnerable to pollution,” Emerson wrote in a memo to council July 15.

BLM also might not know that deposit of toxic tailings at the Iron King Mine violates a town ordinance prohibiting solid waste landfills within the town’s borders, Emerson added.

Original Article

“Some places you just have to say no. That the risks are too high, that we can’t engineer and we can’t mitigate our way out of the mess that we’re about to create.”
Tim Bristol, Director of Trout Unlimited Alaska, interviewed in Red Gold

Imagine a pristine Alaskan wilderness with the most productive Sockeye salmon rivers in the world, teeming with millions of native fish pushing up river to spawn.

Now imagine a two mile wide and 2,000 foot deep open pit gold and copper mine at their headwaters.

As Jay Hammond, former Governor of Alaska said. ‘I can’t imagine a worse location for a mine of this type, unless it were in my kitchen.’

The proposed mine site is located on an expanse of remote Alaska consisting of rolling hills, broad stretches of tundra and numerous creeks and streams.

More precisely, the site is upstream of the largest commercial sockeye salmon fishery in the world, at the headwaters of the Kvichak and the Nushagak Rivers in Bristol Bay-the two largest remaining sockeye salmon runs on the planet.

The mine proposal, known as Pebble, is the project of London-based mining giant Anglo American PLC and Northern Dynasty Minerals of Canada, together forming the Pebble Partnership.

The Partnership is hoping to extract what may prove to be the richest deposit of gold and copper in the world – an estimated 72 billion pounds of copper and 94 million ounces of gold. They also hope to excavate 4.8 billion pounds of molybdenum, along with smaller yields of silver, palladium and rhenium.

Although the project is still in the pre-feasibility and pre-permitting stage of development (the Partnership has not yet filed for specific federal or state mining permits) they hold a lease on about 153 square miles. Mining operations, once begun, could cover more than 30 square miles and continue for a century or more.

Understandably local fishermen are worried.

A pristine wilderness

Bristol Bay is a place where wildlife thrives. The Sockeye, distinguished by their bright red colour, are prolific, thanks to the abundance of pristine and undeveloped freshwater lakes, which are ideal spawning and rearing grounds. Every year millions upon millions of fish surge upriver to spawn.

Many other fish species thrive in Bristol Bay’s rivers and streams, including four other species of wild salmon, rainbow trout, arctic char, arctic grayling, and dolly varden.

And, thanks to the millions of salmon migrating back to the streams, rivers, and lakes the region is can support a diverse range of life. Bristol Bay is home to large populations of bald eagles, moose, seals and walruses, grizzly bears and black bears, beavers, wolverines, porcupines, river otters, beluga and killer whales, foxes, caribou – including one of Alaska’s largest herds, wolves, waterfowl, and migratory birds.

Globally, wild salmon fisheries are in drastic decline. Yet the Bristol Bay watershed, with its intact rivers and undeveloped landscape, still supports a thriving, wild fishery.

The salmon spawning grounds have fed countless generations of Alaskan Natives and today also support a healthy sustainable fishing industry that is critical to the statewide economy.

Bristol Bay produces one-third of the world’s sockeye salmon. The harvest and processing of Bristol Bay fish generates nearly $320 million a year and provides jobs for some 12,500 people.

A safe open pit mine?

The proposed Pebble project would include both a massive open pit and underground mine, consuming a minimum of 28 square miles of state land.

The ‘tailings’ (waste rubble and fluids left behind which would represent about 99 per cent of the raw tonnage) would require two giant ‘tailings’ lakes enclosed by four earthen dams, the largest measuring 4.3 miles long and 740 feet high. The tailings lakes would bury two valleys.

A massive power plant and approximately 100 miles of road would be built to Pebble, the roads crossing numerous salmon bearing streams, running the risk of impeding fish migration.

On top of this is the need for vast quantities of water. In 2006, Northern Dynasty Mines, Inc, applied for Alaska water rights anticipating use levels of some 35 billion gallons a year (more than the annual consumption of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city) drained from the South and North forks of the Koktuli, and from the Upper Talarik Creek, effectively obliterating salmon habitat.

Then there’s the issue of pollution. What will the impact be on the water quality of the surrounding surface and ground waters? Active metal-mine operations routinely release chemicals into the surrounding environment from two general sources – the natural, mineralized rock, and the massive quantities of chemicals that are added and utilized throughout the mining and mineral processing activities.

The Pebble Partnership stress on their website that they are committed to developing the Pebble Project ‘in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.’

In the 2008 documentary film Red Gold (information below), which gives both fishermen and mine officials a chance to argue their case, Bruce Jenkins, COO Northern Dynasty Minerals says:

‘It’s premature for any reasonable person to formulate an opinion on whether or not this project benefits outweigh the risks.’ He goes on to say, ‘Let us finish investing our hundreds of millions of dollars in studies and project design, present that empirical data to the agencies and to the public and the stakeholders and let the data speak for itself.’

In the meantime, there are those doing their own research. A 2007 report by hydrogeologist and geochemist Dr. Robert Moran ‘Pebble Mine: Hydrogeology and Geochemistry Issues’ is ‘intended to express viewpoints and perspectives that are not discussed, or are inadequately discussed by the Northern Dynasty Mines, Inc. (NDM)’. The report addresses more than a dozen environmental issues and concludes that significant impacts to some of the world’s most important fisheries are likely:

‘Even when a mine is well run, it is unavoidable that chemical contaminants will be released into the nearby environment,’ writes Moran. ‘I know of no comparable, large-scale copper-molybdenum-gold ore body that has been mined without release of significant concentrations of contaminants into the nearby surface and or ground waters, over the long-term.’

Salmon and sensitivity

I asked Dr. Carol Ann Woody, a fisheries scientist based in Anchorage, Alaska who has published more than 25 scientific papers on sockeye salmon, what risks the mine pose. She has the following concerns:

• The ore (mineralized rock containing high mineral content) lies directly under salmon habitat. There are many salmon streams and as yet unsurveyed streams within and all around the Pebble Partnership claim (see the map below)

• Data from the Pebble Partnership show the ore to be mostly acid generating therefore there is a high risk for development of acid mine drainage (AMD) over the long term – it can take years to develop. Once it starts it is impossible to stop. AMD can mobilize heavy metals in the ore (such as copper, zinc, cadmium) that are toxic to fish and carry them into ground and surface waters. If groundwater gets contaminated with heavy metals cleaning it up will be difficult if not impossible.

• Slight increases (2-20 parts per billion) above natural levels in Copper can affect a fishes ability to smell which affects a salmon’s ability to find spawning areas, identify predators, prey, kin or mates. Zinc is also toxic to fish as are many of the other minerals in this ore body.

• Immense dams will be needed to contain toxic waste onsite into perpetuity. Perpetual storage of toxic waste onsite is troubling. Fault lines in the region are not well defined and it is in a seismically active region prone to frequent earthquakes.

• Recent studies indicate that this type of mine – a high sulfer mine in an area with abundant ground and surface water – presents the highest risk for water contamination.

The Pebble Partnership state on their website that ‘it’s not yet known how Pebble might affect fish and fish habitat in the project area. The process of selecting a proposed mine plan is part of the ongoing prefeasibility study, with a primary goal of avoiding and minimizing effects on fish and fish habitat. Any effects that ultimately cannot be avoided will be mitigated to ensure that productive fish habitat in the project area is maintained.’

However, for many the risks are too high.

The threat to the Bristol Bay fishery has generated an unusual and diverse array of allies, including Alaska’s subsistence, commercial and sport fishing interests, the Alaska Intertribal Council (a consortium of 231 Alaska Tribes), numerous conservation groups and well known jewelers, such as Tiffany & Co.

In April this year a delegation of Alaska Native leaders from Bristol Bay flew to London to confront Anglo-American executives and shareholders face-to-face and to attend the UK premiere of the documentary film Red Gold.

There I met Alaskan Native Lydia Olympic, a Yupik/Sugpiaq from the Village of Igiugig, a small and remote village located in southwestern Alaska. Her words said it all.

‘This land of bounty has provided for our families, our culture and our traditional way of life for tens of thousands of years,’ Lydia said. ‘We need our lands and waters to stay pristine. We will still be here long after the mining companies have left.’

For generations, people in Leadwood have lived near huge piles of dangerous, lead-contaminated mining waste. Now the EPA has decided the answer to the problem is to pile on more lead-tainted earth.

To many folks, that makes no sense at all.

“They’re going to bring in more dirt that’s poisoned and bring it down here, and we don’t want it,” said Dan Rohrbach, 55, who lives near one of the piles in this town of 1,200 people. “Why are we being treated like second-class citizens?”

Under the plan, which is still being aired in public hearings and has no fixed starting date, 300,000 tons of lead-laced soil from neighboring Jefferson County will be trucked in and spread over some of Leadwood’s tailings, the sandy material left over from a century of mining.

The Environmental Protection Agency, struggling with the long-standing problem of lead contamination in the slice of southeastern Missouri known as the Old Lead Belt, said that will accomplish two things: remove lead contamination from Jefferson County, and help grass grow over the tailings in Leadwood. That will fix the waste in place and keep the lead from blowing around or from washing into streams when it rains.

“What we’re trying to do is consolidate the waste,” said EPA Superfund project manager Jim Silver. “Right now, this lead is all over everywhere.”

Much of the lead used in batteries, bullets and other products in the U.S. once came from the Old Lead Belt, about 70 miles southwest of St. Louis. At its peak in mid-20th century, the St. Joe Lead Co. employed 5,000 people in the region before the mines dried up and the industry moved on to another lead vein farther south.

The legacy of the industry’s heyday remains in piles of tailings, some of which are 30 stories high, looming over communities such as Leadwood, Leadington and Park Hills. In other places, the tailings lie flat and can cover hundreds of acres. There is far too much of the stuff to remove it or bury it.

It has been part of the landscape for generations. Children sledded down the piles, and Christmas trees were placed on top during the holidays. The tailings were also spread on icy streets and put in gardens and sandboxes.

Ignored or unknown were the risks – tailings contain 1,500 to 2,000 parts lead per million, far above levels deemed safe. In children, lead can stunt growth, lower IQ and cause other problems, though the Missouri Health Department says no studies have definitively tied lead exposure in the Old Lead Belt to such problems.

At one flat, 53-acre site in Leadwood, the EPA five years ago tried to grow grass over the tailings by allowing the spraying of treated sewage. But not much grass has grown, and because the sewage includes waste from portable toilets, the stench can be powerful.

So the agency decided to cover the tailings at that site with lead-contaminated soil – something that has already been done in Oklahoma and Kansas and at four other sites in the Old Lead Belt.

Jefferson County was not a lead mining area, but high levels of the heavy metal were found there in one yard after another several years ago. It turns out that companies selling topsoil there were getting dirt from along the Big River, which winds through the Old Lead Belt. Lead had made its way into the river and the soil surrounding it.

Residents in Leadwood, though, see the solution as worse than the original problem.

“They don’t want it, and we don’t want it, either,” said resident Lee Butcher, 50, at a recent public hearing. “The idea that you’re moving it out of Jefferson County and bringing it here doesn’t make sense.”

Over years, efforts to consolidate and contain the lead have had some success. A 1997 state Health Department study found 17 percent of children under age 7 in the Old Lead Belt had blood-lead concentrations exceeding national standards. By 2008, the number had fallen to 4 percent.

EPA remediation manager Jason Gunter said he realizes Leadwood residents “feel like they’re being dumped on.”

“But this is actually a benefit to this community,” he said.

Original Article

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Idaho-based Coeur the go-ahead to dump waste from the mine into nearby Slate Lake. But regional EPA official Michael Gearheard sent a letter to the corps this week asking it to look at an alternative method to handle the tailings. The EPA estimates the re-evaluation will take eight months.

Construction at the mine has been on hold since 2006 because of the tailings issue. Coeur spokesman Tony Ebersole tells the Juneau Empire that the EPA letter is “really unbelievable.” He says it has taken nine years to get the permit to dispose of tailings in the lake, and that federal and state agencies all supported it.

Tailings are the ground-up waste rock left after metals are removed from ore. Coeur wants to put the tailings in Lower Slate Lake, which feeds Berners Bay, and treat the water coming out.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with that plan and said the Corps had been right to issue a permit for the Lower Slate Lake tailings plan. In a 6-3 majority, the court called the disposal plan the environmentally preferred option for the mine, citing the Corps of Engineers’ analysis.

Federal environmental law requires the Corps to choose the least damaging alternative that’s practical when issuing construction permits.

But the EPA says “new information” has come to light since the last time the Corps looked at the mine’s tailings disposal options. It says the Corps is legally obligated to analyze it.

Gearheard’s letter said EPA believes an upland option, the paste tailings facility, may be the least damaging alternative considering that new information.

That’s the plan preferred by environmentalists who sued over the issue. The plan would require Coeur to squeeze water out of the tailings and store the resulting paste in the wetlands above Comet Beach, which lines Lynn Canal.

After the Lower Slate Lake plan was halted, Coeur applied for a permit to build the paste tailings facility. But the company canceled its application in fall 2008, shortly before agencies expected to issue it, and instead focused on its Supreme Court bid to reinstate the Slate Lake plan.

The company has said a paste tailings option would be more expensive than the Slate Lake plan.

Original Article