Reclamation of a Tailings Disposal Area in the Canadian Arctic

摘要

Following 26 years of successful mining, the tailings facility at the Nanisivik Mine sitewas reclaimed between 2004 and 2005. The objective of the reclamation plan for thetailings facility was to use the extremely cold environmental conditions to encapsulate thetailings in permafrost, thereby limiting the potential for negative environmental impactsover the long term. This paper provides a summary of the reclamation of the West TwinDisposal Area including the development of the reclamation plan, the construction ofreclamation measures and an update on the performance monitoring undertaken to-date.The paper demonstrates how the effects of global climate change influenced reclamationplanning and how long term reclamation planning undertaken by the mine during miningoperations was critical to the development, and regulatory acceptance, of the finalreclamation plan.