TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Quebec-focused project developer Canada Lithium on Wednesday said it had became aware of a clear water discharge from a storage cell within the tailings storage facility at its Quebec Lithium Project, near Val d'Or.
The company said the facility held decanted water being used for the process plant commissioning, and affirmed tailings were released into the environment.
Canada Lithium did not expect any delay in the commissioning of the mine, or an increase in capital costs relating to the event.
The company said it would proceed to excavate the area of the water discharge over the next few days and conduct an inspection with its geotechnical consultants and the storage facilities' liner contractors, to repair the cause of the water discharge.
The company had also notified the Quebec Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement de la Faune et des Parcs (MDDEFP) which performed an on-site review of the area where the water discharge took place. Its preliminary assessment indicated that about 50 000 m3 of water had been released.
Canada Lithium was allowed to carry on with the commissioning of its lithium carbonate processing plant and its use of the remaining tailings cell; however, it would undertake an inspection and provide a remedial action plan to the MDDEFP.