TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Comprehensive testing of the process water released from a pond on the defunct Obed Mountain mine, in Alberta, confirmed that the water quality in the Athabasca river was safe, according to findings from a team of third-party water quality and aquatic life experts, led by Millennium EMS Solutions, Sherritt International said on Friday.
The company, which owns the Obed mine, on Friday published the test results of a comprehensive water quality monitoring programme in the Apetowun creek, Plante creek and the Athabasca river, carried out over several weeks following the October 31 release of process water from a pond at the mine site.
A team of scientists, comprised of biology, hydrology and water-health experts, have completed a month-long sampling and analysis of water quality contained in the release. The results of this research were in line with the water quality results recently published by the Alberta government.
“We are publishing the sampling data because we want the public to know that our independent experts found that the water in the Athabasca river is safe.
“We understand the concerns that this incident has created and we’re sorry that this happened. Our employees live, fish and hunt in this region, and we are all working hard to make this right,” senior VP for coal Sean McCaughan said.
Alberta’s medical chief at the end of last month said that the plume of mine wastewater floating down the Athabasca river following the containment pond failure, posed no immediate health threat to humans.
On the evening of October 31, a dyke failure on the defunct Obed Mountain mine site, in the Hinton region, caused the release of about 670-million litres of process water and suspended sediments into the Apetowan and Plante creeks, which merge into the Athabasca river downstream of Hinton.
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development issued an environmental protection order to Coal Valley Resources and Sherritt International compelling the companies to clean up the spill.