The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
TIMMINS – Ontario’s environment watchdog has released a report slamming the provincial government and the mining industry for not putting in place adequate financial assurances to prevent the government from footing the bill for any clean-up after mining operations.
Such provisions are legally required in all mining project closure plans, but the Environment Commissioner of Ontario found that in July there were five idle operations in Ontario without sufficient financial assurance measures in their closure plans. Two of those projects listed in the report are in the Timmins area.
One is the Carshaw-Malga Mine and Mill property located in Shaw and Carman Townships, approximately 25 kilometres southeast of Timmins. The site, owned by Marshall Minerals Corp., was mined and milled gold-bearing ore in the mid-1980s. In 1990, the mill was reactivated to process nickel ore. The site has been idle since 1992.
The other is the Aljo Mine which is listed by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines as a “developed property with reserves.” The workings are about 12.5 kilometres northeast of Matheson.
Dalhousie Oil Company acquired the property in 1990.
Beyond that, the closest of the three other listed derelict properties in the report is Ryan Lake Mine owned by Extender Minerals of Canada Inc.
It is a former gold mine located northwest of Matachewan, that has been inactive since 1964.
The other two properties, both inactive sites for nearly 40 years, are in the Thunder Bay region: Lingman Lake Mine property owned by Cool Minerals Inc. and Coldstream Mine owned by EWL Management Ltd.
The report said it is not always the case of projects having no financial assurances at all, just not enough — something which can go unnoticed until after the mining company goes bankrupt and the province is left footing the bill for site restoration.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2015/11/05/2-local-derelict-mine-sites-among-those-cited-in-eco-report