Ontario to spend more on mine rehab

The Ontario government has entered into a 2-year partnership with the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) to clean up abandoned mine sites.

Under the program, the province will match OMA funds directed to rehabilitation of specific sites, up to $500,000 per year.

Says OMA President Patrick Reid: “The OMA is committed to mineral exploration, production and processing that is environmentally responsible. This announcement reflects the province’s commitment to helping restore mining lands.”

The agreement marks the first time the province has worked with an industry association to rehabilitate abandoned mine sites. One of the stumbling blocks to this sort of partnership is legislation that would hold associations such as the OMA liable if something goes wrong in the cleanup. But according to John Gammon, assistant deputy minister of mines and minerals, “we were able to avoid that through careful wording of the agreement.”

Over the past four years, rehabilitation work and studies have been conducted on more than 55 sites in Ontario, and another 4,000 sites were assessed. Sources say the province needs to spend about $120 million to clean up all its abandoned sites. The most pressing sites are being cleaned up first.

For example, at the former Kam Kotia copper-zinc mine near Timmins, Ont., acid from sulphide-bearing tailings is being discharged into local creeks and rivers. The first two phases of environmental rehabilitation work were completed over the previous few years.

Kam Kotia ceased operations in the mid-1970s. In 1988, the mining and surface rights were forfeited to the Crown. The new funding from the province will allow work at Kam Kotia to continue.

The province also announced it will continue to fund the Abandoned Mines Rehabilitation Program to the tune of $21 million over four years.