The only thing 'green' about this project are the products produced using the rare earth elements. What the video fails to include is the fact that several trucks of acid will be required per day for the processing - the acid will be transported by truck from Ontario, through North Bay and along the HWY 63 corridor and then along the Maniwaki road putting other watersheds as risk should an accident occur. The project will require 190-210 meters cubed of fresh water per hour! Effluent will be released into the nearby water bodies. Wetlands will be transferred into tailings sites which will require careful monitoring well after Matamec has made their money and moved on. The project will produce more than 40 million tonnes of waste and tailings including 600 tonnes of Uranium Oxide and 5,000-8,000 tones of Thorium Oxide both of which remain active for tens of thousands of years. They also generate over 30 other radioactive substances as they undergo radioactive decay. Of course Matamec's video makes no mention of the risks to the local environment or the local population. Some risks include contamination of air, soil and water by heavy metals and radioactive substances. Destruction of important wildlife areas, habitat, destruction of fish habitat, fish spawning grounds, increased cancer rates amount local residents. They also make no mention of non-environmentally friendly uses of rare earth elements or the fact that not one rare earth mine has ever operated in the world without serious environmental and human health consequences.
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