Your coverage of the Matachewan spill is welcome by all concerned parties in the Ontario mining industry. A full discussion of the facts concerning this case may result in a better understanding of a situation which has, to date, been sensationalized to the hilt by the media and others.
“An estimated 200,000 tonnes of tailings containing lead and traces of cyanide, arsenic and mercury spilled into the Montreal River,” says your article “Ontario implicates officers in Matachewan spill” (T.N.M., Jan. 21/91). Cyanide, arsenic and mercury were actually below detection level, according to the Ministry of the Environment.
As well, your editorial “Matachewan under the microscope” (T.N.M., Jan. 21/91) stated the beaver dam burst, causing the flood. The truth of the matter is that Otisse Lake, flooded by the high beaver dam, overflowed on to the tailings and washed them over the local height of land. The dam was blasted after the spill occurred.
Michael Leahy
president
Northern Prospectors’ Association
Kirkland Lake, Ont.
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