INAC clean up of Discovery Site
in response to
by
posted on
Apr 09, 2010 03:03PM
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Cory,
The discovery mine site and airstrip, cleaned up by INAC, is at the northern periperhy of the main operations area for Tyhee. It's inside the claims area controlled by Tyhee, but the ore at Ormsby and Bruce are to the South West from the Discovery mine site. The open pit at Ormsby is wall away from any previous workings.
Mainteance of the airstrip, and it's use for the future mine vs building a new airstrip (a nonsense option which nonetheless had to be compared during the DAR, I understand), is an ongoing obligation for INAC / GNWT. But care and maintenance of an airsrip that is in excellent condition is superior to undertaking an altogether new one. THey monitor how well the layer of clay and gravel laid down is standing up to the weather, and repairs are made when necessary. All the buildings are gone and site very nicely cleaned up. Note that Tyhee did some clean up of old garbage as part of their early operations there, perhaps establishing good credibility in terms of their stewardship and long-term commitment to the property.
Other local issues include sensitivity to the toxic legacy at Giant mine, but we've discussed that here in the past. Tyhee's ore does not need to be baked, so it does not generate this toxic waste that is still a problem for Yellowknife. SO you'll see lots of details in the water / waste issues in the DAR. Tyhee's ore has better chemistry, and all those baseline water tests and confirmation of the processing / water PH and so on is well understood.
There is an advantage for GNWT to allow Tyhee to operate a mine adjacent to a former mine, as it's not breaking into some other pristine area. That Tyhee has established itself well in cooperation regarding the airstrip is not only relationship buiding, but also establishing some knowns in regards to how to put things to bed, and this must be featured in all the permits and plans, as the exit strategy, with no toxic legacy, is a part of this planning process.
SKELEG