(Aerial perspective of a revegetated tailings field at the Gunnar Mine and Mill Site in July 2022. Provided by Sask. Research Council.)
The Saskatchewan Research Council is getting ready to host several community meetings in the north which will be centered around Project CLEANS.
Project CLEANS is a multi-year environmental remediation project in the north with the focus to clean up several mine sites including Gunnar Uranium Mine and Mill Site, Lorado Uranium Mill Site and 35 Satellite Mine Sites in the north.
“It’s important to clean up the old mines because people still live around these sites,” said SRC Environmental Remediation Business Unit Manager, Skye Muirhead. “There are hazards to physical safety like old mine openings, metal debris, old buildings that could collapse, as well as environmental hazards like radioactive mine tailings or contaminated soil and water.”
SRC predicts that the remediation phase of the projects will take another two to five years depending on the site. The long-term monitoring and maintenance phase which happens after remediation is expected to take anywhere from three to 15 years depending on the site.
“It’s important to SRC to include Indigenous local communities in the decision points throughout the project stages, so every year SRC travels into the communities to provide updates on the projects, to listen to feedback and to continue building those relationships,” explained Muirhead.
The community meetings will be held from January 30 to February 2 in Uranium City, Fond du Lac, Black Lake, Stony Rapids and Wollaston Lake.
For more information on the work SRC has done through Project CLEANS you can visit their website.