What’s Happening at Tundra?

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Accessibility Notice

Tundra Mine is located 240 km Northeast of Yellowknife, near the north end of MacKay Lake. The former underground gold mine has been abandoned and is currently under the care of the Contaminants and Remediation Directorate (CARD) of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

Currently at Tundra Mine, there is a head frame and six raises (entrances into the underground), a mill, mine and camp buildings, fuel tanks, and a tailings pond surrounded by five dams. There have been no active operations on site since the mid 1980s and as such the buildings are starting to fall down, and are unsafe to enter.

Phase 1 Remediation Work

Early in 2006, CARD received the go-ahead from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB), and a land use permit and water licence was issued for the remediation work at Tundra Mine. The work includes taking down all buildings on site, construction of a landfill for non hazardous waste, the removal of all hazardous materials from site and the closure of all openings into the underground.

In February 2006, Aboriginal Engineering Limited (AEL) was awarded the contract to take down the buildings at Tundra, construct a non hazardous landfill on site and close all mine openings.

Delays

Due to a warm winter and to the early closure of the Contwoyto winter road, equipment and supplies needed to carry out the remediation work were unable to be transported to site. As a result, phase I of the remediation work at Tundra has been postponed for a year.

Summer 2006

The work carried out this summer at Tundra has been limited to monitoring the quality and quantity of water on site, sampling of the waste rock and tailings, securing buildings and sampling for hazardous materials on site. The total time spent on site this year has been less than two weeks.

Consultation

During the fall of 2005/2006, people from CARD met with representatives from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN), the North Slave Metis Alliance (NSMA) and the Tli Cho Government to discuss potential options to remediate (clean up) the site. The concerns and suggestions raised at these meetings were used to develop the remediation plan for the site. Several site tours took place this past year with Elders from the Tli Cho, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and the North Slave Métis Alliance. The tours gave Elders the opportunity to ask questions and provide advice on remediation of the site with regard to wildlife safety.

What's Next

CARD has been working hard at putting together a plan to remediate the tailings pond by treating the water in the pond and developing options to cover the tailings. We would like to present potential options to stakeholders before Christmas this year, and finalize plans to remediate the tailings pond early in 2007.

Contact Information

Contaminants and Remediation Directorate (CARD)
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

NWT REGION
P.O. Box 1500,
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2R3
PHONE: (867) 669-2699
E-MAIL: ntcommunications@ainc-inac.gc.ca

Published under the authority of the
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and
Non-Status Indians
Ottawa, 2006
www.ainc-inac.gc.ca
1-800-567-9604
TTY only 1-866-553-0554
QS-Y274-000-EE-A1
ISSN 1911-5725
Minister of Public Works and Government
Services Canada
Cette publication est aussi disponible en français sous
le titre: Que se passe-t-il à la mine Tundra?