Mr. Claude Brisson Director of Regional Relations for Matamec was interviewed, these were his statements:
“I realize people are concerned” about the project, Claude Brisson, director of regional relations, said Tuesday. “They are concerned about the water quality” of Kipawa Lake.
“I live on the lake.”
The processing plant was moved away from the open pit location, Brisson said, so the nearby waterways, including the Kipawa River, will be protected.
There will also be a tailings site to take the waste from the treated ore. It will also be well away from the waterways, Brisson said, and will be easy to treat.
“What we don’t want, is . . . something that we will have to take care of for a long, long time” after the mine’s projected 15 to 16 years of operation.
I think perhaps Mr. Brisson himself is not fully aware and seriously misinformed about the risks of this project. If he lives on the lake he should be concerned. Moving the processing plant and tailings sites further away from the water bodies in no way guarantees their protection. All sites as still located within the Kipawa Lake Catchment Basin, meaning all run off waters from the mine, spills, etc. will make their way into Kipawa Lake. Since when are mine tailings easy to treat? Mine tailings often contain heavy metals, and radioactive substances. They are something that you have to take care of for a long, long time, well after the projected 15-16 years of operation.
This project will produce more than 40 million tonnes of waste and tailings including 600 tonnes of Uranium Oxide and 5,000-8,000 tonnes of Thorium Oxide. Both of which remain active for tens of thousands of years and generate over 30 other radioactive byproducts as they undergo radioactive decay. The tailings sites will have to be properly managed for a very long time. Mining companies do not stick around to do this job of clean up and management of their wastes. It falls upon the government to clean up their mess and tax payer money is used to that end. End of the day, Matamec and Toyota make a ton of money off of this project (billions of dollars), they destroy the land, the community makes very little, they are able to tax any buildings but mining operations don't have many buildings. The project might employ a few local residents but the majority of positions will not go to local residents. Then when the mining company is finished extracting Canada's natural resources they pick up and leave. The Canadian government is not paid for the ores they extract but is then responsible to clean up the mess.
This project will produce more than 40 million tonnes of waste and tailings including 600 tonnes of Uranium Oxide and 5,000-8,000 tonnes of Thorium Oxide. Both of which remain active for tens of thousands of years and generate over 30 other radioactive byproducts as they undergo radioactive decay. The tailings sites will have to be properly managed for a very long time. Mining companies do not stick around to do this job of clean up and management of their wastes. It falls upon the government to clean up their mess and tax payer money is used to that end. End of the day, Matamec and Toyota make a ton of money off of this project (billions of dollars), they destroy the land, the community makes very little, they are able to tax any buildings but mining operations don't have many buildings. The project might employ a few local residents but the majority of positions will not go to local residents. Then when the mining company is finished extracting Canada's natural resources they pick up and leave. The Canadian government is not paid for the ores they extract but is then responsible to clean up the mess.
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