Gold, arsenic and murder: $1-billion cleanup underway at notorious N.W.T. gold mine
Just outside this northern capital, on a small hill within eyeshot of its skyline, sit 365 sea cans sealed off behind a high wire fence, the surrounding roads regularly watered to settle dust.
The sea cans are one of many signs that work is underway, seven years after the remediation plan was approved. For decades, it helped drive the local economy. Many northerners have fond memories of mine-sponsored hockey teams and other contributions to Yellowknife life. An estimated 13.5 tonnes of arsenic-contaminated soil remains on the surface. The astounding tonnage underground — enough to kill every Canadian several times over — was simply blown back almost 100 metres deep into 13 mined-out chambers, some big enough to swallow an 11-storey building.The arsenic is highly soluble. On its own, it would likely leach into groundwater and enter the bordering Great Slave Lake.
The Yellowknives are negotiating with Ottawa over a compensation package for loss of use of the land as well as apology for how it was taken from them in the first place. About 80 people are now on the site. When the work peaks in 2031, about 260 full-time equivalent jobs — mostly heavy equipment operators — are expected to be created.
O’Reilly worries that over time, people will forget about the hazards and grow inured to their risks. — June 3, 1948: The mine, owned by Frobisher Explorations, pours its first gold brick. Ownership later changes hands several times. — October 1951: A Cottrell Electrostatic Precipitator is installed to capture and control emissions. Arsenic emissions drop to 5,500 kilograms per day. That same year, storage of arsenic trioxide dust in underground storage chambers begins.
— May 22, 1992: The day before workers plan to go on strike, Royal Oak locks out union members and plans to use replacement workers.
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