Wesdome Gold Mines was walloped with $350,000 in federal and provincial fines for not controlling effluent emanating from the company’s tailings management area at its Eagle River mill, located 50 kilometres west of Wawa.
The mining company was fined $175,000 under the Fisheries Act after it pleaded guilty in an Ontario Court of Justice on Feb. 22 for depositing harmful substances in a nearby creek.
In addition, the company was ordered to pay an additional $175,000 for charges laid by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
A joint investigation conducted by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) discovered that between Jan. 1, 2012 and May 7, 2013, the tailings management area experienced high water levels, which led to an uncontrolled flow of effluent into Miron Creek. Some of the effluent contained cyanide and metals that are harmful to fish.
The evidence gathered indicated that the incidents were caused by Wesdome’s failure to properly manage water levels and key treatment processes with its facilities.
Wesdome also failed to immediately notify the MOECC’s Spills Action Centre upon discovering the problem. As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.
