Placer waste is carefully managed at Musselwhite. This oil recycling centre is just one of many initiatives.
Photo by Shirley Collingridge
Colin Seeley, Manager of Aboriginal Affairs and Corporate Relations at the Musselwhite Mine in northwestern Ontario, knows firsthand that the pounds are being taken care of by all the environmental watchdogs governmental agencies and mining corporations included.
When the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act came into effect in 1995, Musselwhite became the first mining project in the country to fall under the Act's review. In the company's massive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), you will find provisions for the area's existing fish, wildlife, water quality and habitat, as well as an exhaustive assessment of the potential impacts of terrestrial and aquatic habitat loss, metals release to the environment, changes in water quality, and increased access to the wilderness areas around Musselwhite.
The EIS grew out of discussions with regulatory agencies including the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, along with First Nations in the surrounding area. Musselwhite implemented a series of strategies to meet or exceed the regulations: Maintenance Management Systems, an Environmental Management System and an Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
Obviously, the pounds are being well monitored; why worry about "the pennies?" "Sometimes it's the more subtle things that a company is doing that are most important, said Seeley. "In a way, these more subtle things illustrate our depth of commitment."
"There are proper waste streams that a lot of companies probably don't use," he said. "Electronic scrap people would say, well that's nothing they would have to worry about at Musselwhite. But the fact is that we view this scrap as potentially harmful to the environment. So we take steps to corral it and ship it off to proper disposal sites."
Placer waste is carefully managed at Musselwhite. This oil recycling centre is just one of many initiatives.
Photo by Shirley Collingridge
"There are three to seven pounds of lead in an older computer monitor, so Musselwhite recycles them. Also circuit boards, because they are soldered with lead. We endeavour to educate all our people," said Seeley. "It doesn't go in waste piles or landfill; it goes into the waste stream' to be shipped off site for proper disposal."
Seeley sets an example for his employees by picking up refuse that blows onto the site. At his office in Toronto, he personally checked with maintenance staff to ensure the process continues there. He learned, "The building has a process of putting electronic scrap garbage into a proper waste stream," he said. "Then a company collects it and properly disposes of it."
"It's amazing how many big corporations and companies just throw recyclables out on the sidewalk for the scrapman," said Seeley. "There's always something because a monitor is failing or a phone is acting up."
Seeley's company also recycles its batteries although this can be a difficult process. "They attempt to track it. Whatever batteries are purchased should equal whatever batteries are recycled," he said.
A facility squeezes oil out of the mine's filters and filter elements. "That oil is shipped off site for recycling. Then the containers are put in drums and they as well are shipped off for recycling," he said.
Any of this waste might otherwise harm the pristine environment where ducks alight on the tailings pond and black bears wander "sacred hill" the spiritual site which elders allowed the company to access.
Environmental Technologist Shane Matson agrees that individual efforts make the difference, "the people make this place happen," he said. Matson has a keen interest in environmental processes old and new, and calls himself "an outdoorsy kind of guy."
Environmental stewardship has vastly improved. "However," said Matson, "There are still lots of mines out there that haven't been closed properly" mines that were closed decades ago under the old regulations.
Matson enjoys the challenge of implementing these constantly evolving principles. At Musselwhite, "We're always looking for new initiatives," he said. "We have the new metal mining effluent regulations that came into effect last year, which has increased our sampling - sampling water, doing fish studies, et cetera."
"Wildlife is something I've always had interest in. I'd like to better sustain renewable resources," he said. "However, non-renewable resources remain essential. As long as we're managing what we do as far as the environment goes, it's something that we have to do."
"We currently use renewable resources such as solar energy here out at our final compliance point," said Matson. "It's a constant flow meter generated on solar power."
Like environmental studies, Musselwhite's long-term plans remain a work in progress. "We're constantly updating our closure plan," said Matson. "Our biggest liability would be the tailings area. We are currently researching alternative closure methods on our tailings dam, based on a risk [management] approach. Revegetation with native grasses, preserving current wildlife habitats, and protecting groundwater resources are all critical focuses of the company; environmental training is ongoing. They get us involved in initiatives coming from Environment Canada and other agencies."
And so, the company continues to take care of the pounds while its employees carefully safeguard the pennies.
The Musselwhite joint venture is held by Placer Dome (CLA) Limited (68%) and Kinross Gold Corporation (32%). To learn more about the mine and its owners, visit www.placerdome.com and www.kinross.com. Placer Dome trades as NYSE, TSX, ASX: PDG. Kinross trades as NYSE: KGC and TSX: K.