Province faces $18M bill for mine cleanup
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2012 (5003 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
WINNIPEG — Manitoba is facing an $18-million bill to clean up an abandoned northern mine that, until recently, was barely on its radar.
The Selinger government is not naming the mine while it negotiates a settlement with its owner.
A government official would only reveal that the site was either a copper or zinc mine in the north that had been abandoned for “a number of years.”
John Fox, assistant deputy minister of Mines, said the company’s claim that the province was partially responsible for the mine’s cleanup caught the government by surprise.
The unanticipated liability came to light with the release of the government’s final audited statements for 2011-12 released last Friday.
Ed Huebert, executive vice-president of the Mining Association of Manitoba, said the mine may predate legislation in the early 1990s that put the onus on mine operators for site cleanup.
“All the existing operators, they’ve fully booked all their liabilities,” Huebert said.
“In fact, it’s an obligation under the Mines and Minerals Act. They all have to have mine closure plans.
“It’s a cost of doing business.”
Fox said the site in question poses no immediate environmental hazard. The company that owns the old mine is “managing it in accordance with the environmental approvals,” he said.
» Winnipeg Free Press