Cases / Mining · Canada · 1999–2022
Giant Mine cleanup cost in Yellowknife rose to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars
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 Yellowknife's Giant Mine rose to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars in 2022, all of it public money, Cabin Radio reported. Arsenic is to be frozen, and perpetual upkeep is required.
What?
The federal cost of cleaning up Giant Mine in Yellowknife rose to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars, according to CBC. CBC
Where?
Yellowknife, Canada CBC
When?
Owner in receivership in 1999; federal cost estimate reported in August 2022 CBC
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Canadian taxpayers — the full 4.38 billion Canadian dollars, which Cabin Radio says is public money Cabin Radio
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Arsenic is to be frozen and perpetual maintenance is needed; the cleanup is paid from public funds. Cabin Radio
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
CBC reported in August 2022 that the federal cost of cleaning up Giant Mine had risen to 4.38 billion Canadian dollars, and that the owner, Royal Oak, had gone into receivership in 1999.
Cabin Radio reported that all of the 4.38 billion Canadian dollars is public money.
Cabin Radio reported that 237,000 tonnes of arsenic will be frozen, that the cleanup costs about 1 billion Canadian dollars, and that perpetual maintenance costs 2 million Canadian dollars a year.
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
- Unclear Whether the perpetual maintenance cost is included in the 4.38 billion figure is not stated in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The original planned cost is not stated; the Cabin Radio headline says the cleanup will cost much more than planned.
- None on record No criminal or personal penalty is documented in the sources reviewed.
- None on record Health and environmental effects on nearby communities are not described in the sources reviewed.
- None on record Who gained from the mine's operation is not stated in the sources reviewed.
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.
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