WATER MANAGEMENT
An Eskay Creek employee takes a water sample from one of the monitoring points near the former mine
road maintenance, labour, material movement and food services.
Because Eskay Creek is located next to two deep, non-fish-bearing lakes, the operators were able to store tailings and waste rock under water, cutting off the oxygen that would otherwise have caused them to generate acid. The two lakes, Tom Mackay Lake and Albino Lake, never contained fish because the streams and creeks that flow from them are rocky and the water flowing through them is too fast-moving for fish to swim upstream. The lakes are monitored for water quality on a quarterly basis in accordance with permit requirements.
Despite the advanced closure status of the site, Barrick will continue to be responsible for Eskay Creek for the foreseeable future, or until new owners are found. " Site relinquishment was once the goal of every closure program; however, in many jurisdictions that is simply no longer attainable," says Dan Bornstein, Barrick ' s Director for Mine Closure Strategy and British Columbia Properties. " Companies need to be more creative now than ever before in finding new owners and new uses for their brownfield properties that gain the support of local communities in order to achieve something akin to site relinquishment."
Similarly, as part of its mine closure obligations, Barrick’ s Pierina mine in Peru has built two new water treatment plants to safeguard local water quality. It has also installed a cyanide detoxification plant, which will operate until all cyanide has been consumed or destroyed on site.
Pierina is located about 300 km north of Lima in a high precipitation region of Peru. Average annual rainfall is 1,200 mm which, combined with natural conditions of the area, make conditions ripe for acid rock drainage.
The water treatment plants conduct daily water sampling and on-site analysis, measuring various metrics including water acidity, or pH levels, and turbidity. The new treatment plants replace existing treatment facilities on site and underscore Barrick’ s commitment to proper mine closure.
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MARCH 2017 | International Mining 31