Colomac Mine

Colomac Mine
Location
Colmac Mine Location in Canada 64°12′00″N 116°01′11″W / 64.2°N 116.01972°W / 64.2; -116.01972Coordinates: 64°12′00″N 116°01′11″W / 64.2°N 116.01972°W / 64.2; -116.01972
Territory	Northwest Territories
Country	Canada
Owner
Company	Government of Canada
Year of acquisition	1997
History
Opened	1990
Closed	1997

The Colomac Mine was an open pit gold mine in the Northwest Territories that operated between 1990–1992, and 1994-1997. It was operated by Peggy Witte, whose first company Neptune Resources Limited had little success in making a profitable operation. In 1994 the mine reopened by her other company, Royal Oak Mines Incorporated. Low gold prices forced Royal Oak into bankruptcy and the mine was reverted to the ownership of the federal government of Canada. A major cleanup effort is underway to prevent the mine from polluting the environment. The mine tailings have a very high cyanide and ammonia content, and a serious acid mine drainage problem as well as other contaminants and waste on site.^{[citation needed]}

The Colomac Mine processed a total of 12,294,352 tons of ore to produce 535,708 troy ounces (16,662 kg) of gold.

On April 2007, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has engaged Deloitte & Touche LLP as its agent to solicit expression of interest with respect to the acquisition of the Colomac Gold Mine, NWT. The key highlights of this opportunity were:

• Approximately 6.6 million tonnes of indicated resources
• Gold processing mill and related equipment
• Maintenance building
• Dorm-room style camp complex
• Power and fuel storage facilities
• Mobile equipment including rock trucks, excavators and loaders

The mine was featured in the series Ice Road Truckers.

Rehabilitation

The Colomac gold mine, on Dogrib territory, was shut down in 1997, then abandoned by Royal Oak and transferred to the Federal government on December 13, 1999. Under its Water Licence, the company had posted a $1.5 million security deposit. At present it is on "care & maintenance" and awaiting clean-up. The mine tailings have a very high cyanide and ammonia content and a serious acid mine drainage problem as well as other contaminants and waste on site. The eventual clean-up may cost more than $70 million. On November 23, 1999, Royal Oak Mines was charged with cyanide dumping by the Federal Government at the Colomac mine.^[1]

The mine is located at Indin Lake, which provides drinking water for 200 residents. The Dogribs said that the tailings pond would overflow, unless immediate drastic measures were taken. In early March^[when?], a public hearing was held to cancel the Royal Oak water licence so that a new one can be issued and clean-up can begin. The Dogribs feel this tortuous legislative process may delay clean-up until it is too late.

In November 1999, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) awarded a one-year, $2-million contract to a consortium of aboriginal businesses from DetonÇho Corporation, the Dogrib Rae Band and the North Slave Metis Alliance to undertake final reclamation activities at the Colomac Mine. The consortium conducted studies into contamination and took responsibility for on-going environmental monitoring and maintenance of the site. After the contract was awarded, Royal Oak was finally charged under the Water Act and the Fisheries Act for the pollution it caused – much too late, since the company was already in receivership.

Now, the water licence has not been changed, the money needed to clean up the site is not forthcoming, and the Dogribs are faced with a potential catastrophe if the tailings pond overflows. Says Dogrib leader Ted Blondin: "I think there is a fiduciary responsibility that the federal government has to looking after the Dogrib interests, and these are the arguments that we will use towards ensuring that the quality of water and the work that has to be done for the cleanup is done."^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Colomac Mine." Infomine.com. Accessed June 2011.