Cases / Mining · Canada · 1948–2038
Canada's Giant Mine arsenic cleanup cost rises to CAD 4.38 billion
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The federal cost of cleaning up the former Giant Mine in Yellowknife has reached CAD 4.38 billion. About 237,000 tonnes of arsenic are to be frozen, with cooling and monitoring needed indefinitely.
What?
Remediation of the abandoned Giant Mine in Yellowknife, including freezing about 237,000 tonnes of arsenic and indefinite maintenance. Cabin Radio
Where?
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Cabin Radio
When?
Mine span given as 1948 to 2038; owner placed in receivership in 1999; cost update reported in August 2022. CBC
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The arsenic is to be frozen, followed by endless cooling and monitoring, with the federal government funding the remediation. Cabin Radio
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
CBC reported in August 2022 that the federal cost of remediating Giant Mine had risen to CAD 4.38 billion; its former owner, Royal Oak, had been placed in receivership in 1999.
Cabin Radio reported that the full CAD 4.38 billion was public money and that about 237,000 tonnes of arsenic would be frozen.
Cabin Radio also reported an estimate of about CAD 1 billion for cleanup and about CAD 2 million a year in maintenance, which would last indefinitely.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say who gained from the mine's operations or who was harmed by the arsenic.
- None on record The CAD 1 billion cleanup estimate and the CAD 4.38 billion federal cost are reported without reconciliation of their scope.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not explain what the 1948 to 2038 span marks at its end.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Cleaning up Giant Mine will take longer and cost much more than plannedCabin Radio · 2022
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Giant Mine cleanup cost in Yellowknife rose to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars Canada · 1999–2022
- Government of Canada (Government) — here: Federal government funding the remediation; there: Bears the federal cost of the cleanup
- Royal Oak (Company) — here: Former owner; placed in receivership in 1999; there: Former owner; in receivership from 1999
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