1+1 ATIP Secretariat 580 Booth Street, 11th Floor Ottawa, ON KIA OE4 Facsimile: (613) 995-0693 Secretariat de I' AIPRP 580, rue Booth, 11 e emge Ottawa ON KIA OE4 Teltcopieur: (613) 995-0693 Our file: DC7040-13-313 / JB November 15, 2013 Mr. David McKie Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 181 Queen Street Ottawa, ON KIP lK9 Dear Mr. McKie: This is in response to your request made pursuant to the Access to Information Act, which was received in our Department on October 28,2013, and reads as follows: "144810: Giant mine in Northwest Territories." Enclosed you will fwd the document that is relevant to your request. You are entitled to complain to the Information Commissioner about the processing of your request within sixty days of the receipt ofthis notice. Complaint(s) should be addressed to: The Information Commissioner of Canada Place de Ville, 7th Floor, Tower B 112 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario KIA IH3 Tel: (613) 995-2410 Toll-free 1-800-267-0441 Fax: (613) 947-7294 Should you have any questions regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to contact Julien Beauchamp at 613-995-8627 or bye-mail atjulien.beauchamp@NRCan­ RNCan.gc.ca. Sincerely yours, ~Z;~tI- f Charles Taillefer Director Access to lnfonnation and Privacy Enclosure: pages 1-4 RELEASED UNDER THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION N:IT DIVULGUE SOUS LA LOI DE L'ACcES A L'INFORMATION [_:..~~ t:'-:!~ >-,~ u Natural Resources Canada Rassources natural/es Canada Deputy Minister Sous-ministre UNCLASSIFIED N13-144810 !!(yJ {6 2013 Ottawa, Canada KtAOE4 MEMQRANDUMTQ THE MINISTER GIANT MINE IN NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (Information) SUMMARY • The Giant Mine site is located within the City of Yellowknife boundary, about five kilometres north of the city centre. The Giant Mine was one of the richest gold mines in Canada with over 7.6 million ounces of gold produced over its operating life (1948-2004). During its operation, the Giant Mine generated significantly high levels of surface and underground contamination. • The $903 million remediation project for the abandoned Giant Mine, requiring perpetual care, is one of the highest remediation priorities and one of the largest investments in Canada under the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan. • Additional information on a project proposal for the Giant Mine remediation may be found at Attachment 1. BACKGRQUND With respect to surface and underground contamination, a prominent concern is the approximately 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in underground chambers. The Giant Mine site also has 16 million tonnes of arsenic-contaminated tailings stored in tailings ponds, as well as industrial buildings and surface soil that are contaminated with arsenic. Canad~ NRCan-RNCan_OOO1 RELEASED UNDER THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION t>CT D1VULGU':- SOUS LA Lot DE L'ACCES A L'INFORMATION - 2 - UNCLASSIFIED Nl3-l44810 Contaminated water management is another significant challenge as a creek flows over the top of the arsenic chambers and water circulates through the underground mine. The Giant Mine has been owned by several mining companies, In 1992, under the ownership of Royal Oak Mines Ltd., it was the site of labour unrest and the death of nine miners through a deliberately set explosion. Royal Oak operated the mine for six more years until the company was placed in receivership in 1999 and the courts transferred ownership to the administrator of Crown lands, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The department temporarily transferred mine assets to another company to continue mine production, jobs and site maintenance. That agreement terminated without further production in 2005 and Giant Mine became an abandoned mine. The site is now co-managed by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) and the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) under a lO-year, maintenance and remediation cooperation agreement. An Environmental Assessment, subject under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, commenced in 2008 for the proposed site remediation. AANDC and the GNWT are project proponents. On June 20 t 2013, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) issued its Report; the Board recommended that the project be approved t subject to 16 impact mitigation measures and numerous suggestions. Some of the mitigation measures-including a reduction in project remediation timeline from "perpetuitytt to 100 years, independent project reviews every 20 years, and improvement of water quality treatment to drinking water standards­ were not contemplated by the proponent and will increase the costs for site remediation. The MVEIRB report is now being reviewed by Responsible Ministers (AANDC, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the GNWT). The Minister of AANDC, on behalf of Responsible Ministers, is required to issue a determination of whether to a,ccept the reportt refer it back to the board for further conSideration, consult to modifYt or reject, before December 2013. NRCan-RNCan_OOO2 RELEASED UNDER THE ACCESS TO INFORMATlON ACT DIVULGUE SOUS LA lOI DE l'ACCES AL'INFORMATION - 3 - UNCLASSIFIED N13-144810 CONSIDERATIONS The $903 million remediation project for the abandoned Giant Mine, requiring perpetual care, is one of the largest investments in the federal contaminated sites program. ~~ J A deCision is pending on the proposal's environmental assessment, which recommended measures that, if accepted, will increase the costs for water treatment and site remediation beyond the $903 million approved by Treasury Board in March 2012. The proponent has indicated that urgent action is required to stabilize underground vaults containing arsenic trioxide, and demolish the contaminated roaster complex. This is an immediate concern for local residents and First Nations. To address immediate risks, roaster deconstruction began this spring, and yvork on underground stabilization is expected to commence this fall. J. Hollington, 943-1778 I T. Bender 943-1870 SCience and Policy Integration RELEASED UNDER THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ICf DlVULGU~ SOUS LA LOI DE L'ACCES A L'INFORMATION . "" ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Giant Mine Remediation - Project Proposal Underground chambers and stopes of the mine contain over 237,000 tonnes of water-soluble arsenic trioxide. Contaminated tailings (13.5 million tonnes) are spread over 95 hectares of the mine site. The proposed project involves remediating the Giant Mine site, including: managing underground arsenic trioxide dust by ground freezing; remediating the surface, including covering tailings, managing the open pits, demolishing over 100 contaminated buildings, and managing contaminated soils, all to industrial standards for future land use; managing site water; releasing treated water though a diffuser in Great Slave Lake; minimizing the release of contaminants to the surrounding environment; and improving the condition of Baker Creek. The project plan has two phases: (1) site remediation and (2) long­ term operation, monitoring and maintenance. It is designed to operate for an unlimited period of time, and requires ongoing management, maintenance and replacement of important components forever. In the first phase, over fifteen years, the plan includes surface remediation and the installation of a system to freeze the ground and immobilize contaminants in the underground arsenic storage areas. In the second phase, the plan includes periodic monitoring, maintenance and replacement of components, a water treatment system and diffuser, and a water collection system. If a freezing system is required over longer time periods, one or more freezing plants will be constructed. The remediation implementation pt.Jase of the project is expected to create almost 2.5 million person-hours of work, and it is anticipated that there will be 16 long-term, full-time equivalent positions created for operations and maintenance post remediatIon. .... ~-