About 30 per cent of a $45-million project to remediate the abandoned Ruttan Mine site east of Leaf Rapids has been completed and the rest is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2022, the provincial government says.
Ruttan Mine operated for 30 years until its closure in 2002, and remediation work is being done by Dauphin-based Strilkiwski Contracting Ltd., which is collecting contaminated water, improving drainage and diverting clean water away from the site.
“Our government has made a significant commitment to clean up contaminated and orphaned mines, for the environment and for the protection of Manitobans, and this is a strong step toward that goal,” said Conservation and Climate Minister Sarah Guillemard in a March 1 press release. “Work is well underway at Ruttan, one of several such sites that we are targeting for remediation across the province.”
The project also involves ensuring that all contaminated water at the mine site is directed into the open pit, where it will be treated before it is discharged into the environment. It is estimated that 5.5 million cubic metres of water at the site will need to be treated every year for five years.
“The SCL Project Team and dedicated employees are very pleased to be involved in this major endeavour,” said Strilkiwski Contracting president Gerald Strilkiwski. “It will create a positive effect on the environment while contributing a much-needed boost to the local economy by providing jobs to local and Indigenous workers and businesses.”
Covering exposed mine tailings in tailings management areas is also part of the work being performed. The province says about 60 per cent of the covering material has been hauled and placed. The government is seeking proposals for water treatment and long-term surveillance at the mine site.
The Abandoned Mine Site Rehabilitation Program was established by the provincial government in 2000 to deal with 149 former mine sites identified as orphaned or abandoned.
