Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines – Page 44

BHP-Vale Brazil Mine Said to Weigh Missing Next Bond Coupon – by Cristiane Lucchesi (Bloomberg News – September 14, 2016)

September 15, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Samarco Mineracao SA is considering skipping bond coupon payments that are due as soon as this month as the stalled Brazilian iron-ore miner runs out of money, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Without knowing when it can restart mining, the venture owned by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Vale SA is yet to engage in formal restructuring talks with bondholders, two of the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. As a result, there’s not enough time to reach a restructuring deal before the coupons are due, they said.

Once the world’s second-largest producer of iron-ore pellets, Samarco also is seeking an agreement on about $1.6 billion in bank loans to postpone payments until it restarts mining, people with knowledge said last month. A bankruptcy protection filing is among options being considered, one of the people said.

Uncertainty over Brazil Samarco mine hinders restructuring, firm at risk – by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.S. – September 8, 2016)

September 9, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

SAO PAOLO/RIO DE JANEIRO – Almost a year after a deadly dam spill at the Samarco mine, owned by BHP Billiton and Vale, there is still no date for restarting operations, complicating attempts to restructure Samarco’s debt and increasing the possibility the miner may be allowed to run out of money.

Vale and BHP have assured authorities they will cover the cost of Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster, sources familiar with their thinking say, stopping short of saying they will keep Samarco, for whom the closed mine is the only real revenue stream, afloat.

Samarco’s debt is trading at distressed levels. The price on Samarco’s 4.125 percent dollar-denominated bond due in November 2022, for example, has fallen to 37.50 cents on the dollar to yield 24.17 percent.

In Siberia, a ‘Blood River’ in a Dead Zone Twice the Size of Rhode Island – by Andrew E. Kramer (New York Times – September 8, 2016)

September 9, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

MOSCOW — A river in the far north of Siberia turned bright red this week, residents said, leading Russians to nickname the tributary the “blood river.”

A government ministry said it was investigating a possible leak of industrial waste, but had not determined what caused the discoloration. One hint at the possible cause is the path the river, the Daldykan, takes past the Norilsk Nickel mine and metallurgical plant, by many measures one of the world’s most polluting enterprises.

The plant belches so much acid rain-producing sulfur dioxide — two million tons a year, more than is produced in all of France — that it is surrounded by a dead zone of tree trunks and mud about twice the size of Rhode Island.

EPA Adds Bonita Peak Mining District to Superfund List (Engineering and Mining Journal – September 8, 2016)

September 9, 2016

http://www.e-mj.com/

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added three mining-related sites to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. These include the Bonita Peak Mining District (BPMD) site in San Juan County, Colorado; the Argonaut mine, Amador County, California; and the Anaconda Aluminum Co.’s Columbia Falls Reduction Plant site, also known as the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. (CFAC) site, in Columbia Falls, Montana.

The law establishing the Superfund program, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), requires the EPA to update the NPL at least annually and clean up hazardous waste sites. The designation comes a little more than a year after the EPA released 3 million gallons of water from the Gold King mine into the Animas River fouling rivers and lakes from Colorado to Nevada. The Gold King mine is one of several abandoned mines in the Bonita Peak district.

“Listing [it] on the [NPL] is an important step that enables the EPA to secure the necessary resources to investigate and address contamination concerns of San Juan and La Plata counties, as well as other downstream communities in New Mexico, Utah, and the Navajo Nation,” said Shaun McGrath, EPA’s regional administrator.

Gypsum blues: Manatee County sets the stage for phosphate mining – by Seán Kinane (Creative Loafing Tampa – September 8, 2016)

September 8, 2016

http://www.cltampa.com/

It’s a story Florida’s environmental champions have heard many times before: decision makers ignoring the pleas of the public (and the science) and siding with monied interests. This time, it’s happening in south Tampa Bay.

Despite objections from residents, a new 3,837-acre phosphate mine could be coming to eastern Manatee County.

On September 15, the Manatee Board of County Commissioners will vote on whether to rezone an area known as the Wingate East Parcel from agriculture to mining/extraction as well as on a master mining plan for Wingate East Mine. These changes, requested by Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, were recommended by the Manatee County Planning Commission during an all-day meeting on August 18, despite objections from several members of the public.

Russia: Investigation into possible pipeline break ordered as Daldykan River turns bright red – by William Watkinson (International Business Times – September 7, 2016)

September 8, 2016

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/

Authorities in the Arctic city of Norilsk have begun an investigation into a possible pipeline break after a river running through the city turned red. Residents of the nickel-producing city, located in the north east of the country, noticed that the Daldykan River had changed colour on Tuesday (6 September).

Speculation by social media users centred on a possible break in pipes serving the nickel-producing town, leading to industrial waste leaking into the river. Other theories mentioned iron ore seeping into the water through the ground.

In a statement, the natural resources and environment ministry in Russia said that they were probing complaints of unknown chemical pollution, possibly caused by a “break in a Norilsk Nickel slurry pipe”.

Samarco dam failed due to poor drainage and design: investigation – by Marta Nogueira and Stephen Eisenhammer (Reuters U.S. – August 30, 2016)

September 1, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

BELO HORIZONTE/RIO DE JANEIRO – The deadly collapse of a tailings dam last November at the Samarco mine, owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton, was caused by drainage and design flaws, a report into Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster showed on Monday.

The 76-page report commissioned by the companies responsible for the spill, which killed 19 people, attributed the dam burst to a chain of events dating back to 2009, but did not assign blame or highlight specific errors in corporate or regulatory practice.

Norbert Morgenstern, a geotechnical engineering professor who headed the investigation, repeatedly told reporters he could not answer their questions when quizzed on whether there was negligence or malpractice on the part of the companies involved.

Cracks seen before dam collapse at BHP, Vale joint venture: report – by Elizabeth Redman and Matt Chambers (The Australian – August 30, 2016)

August 30, 2016

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Mining giant BHP Billiton says it was not aware that the tailings dam at its Samarco joint venture in Brazil was at risk of collapsing, despite a series of efforts over years to fix its structural defects.

The assertion follows the release of a report into the technical causes of the deadly dam collapse at the Samarco mine in November, 2015, which caused a massive spill of waste material, polluted a major river and killed at least 19 people.

According to a new report by geotechnical specialists, the dam’s collapse was a result of construction defects, a poor redesign and safety criteria not being met, with the failure accelerated by three small earthquakes. Cracks were evident at the tailings dam more than a year before it failed. The investigation was commissioned by BHP Billiton and Vale, along with their Samarco joint venture.

U.S. judge orders Teck Resources to pay aboriginal group $8.25-million – by Sunny Dhillon (Globe and Mail – August 25, 2016)

August 26, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

VANCOUVER — Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. says it is “reviewing the implications” after a U.S. judge ruled it must pay an aboriginal group $8.25-million (U.S.) in costs.

Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation – which is comprised of 12 indigenous groups and located across the border in Washington State – brought a lawsuit against Teck in 2004 and alleged hazardous substances from its Trail, B.C., smelter were disposed of in the Columbia River. The group’s reservation borders that river.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko in a ruling earlier this month awarded the Colville Tribes $8.25-million in costs, plus interest. Of the money awarded, approximately $3.4-million stems from the group’s investigative costs into the status of the water and expert analysis. About $4.85-million stems from its attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.

Teck not liable for historic air pollution, rules U.S. court – by Sheri Regnier (Trail Daily Times – August 24, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.traildailytimes.ca/

The U.S. Court of Appeals recently ruled that Teck Resources cannot be held liable for air pollution that historically drifted across the border into Washington.

Chris Stannell, Teck’s senior communications specialist says the company is pleased with the decision and a review of its implications are currently underway with counsel.

He says Teck and its affiliates have invested over $75 million to date, under EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) oversight, towards a study to identify potential risks to human health or the environment in the Upper Columbia River associated with historic operations at the Trail facility.

Exclusive: Goldcorp struggles with leak at Mexican mine – by Allison Martell, Frank Jack Daniel and Noe Torres (Reuters U.S. – August 24, 2016)

August 25, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/MEXICO CITY – Mexican regulators said they are examining whether mining company Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) broke any regulations in its handling of a long-running leak of contaminated water at Mexico’s biggest gold mine.

The move follows questions from Reuters about the leak, which until now has not been disclosed to the public. Levels of the mineral selenium rose in one groundwater monitoring well near Goldcorp’s Penasquito mine as early as October 2013, Goldcorp data reviewed by Reuters shows.

The Canadian company reported a rise in selenium levels in groundwater to the Mexican government in October 2014, after which the contamination near its mine waste facility intensified, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters, and interviews with government officials. Two weeks ago, the company told Mexican regulators that contaminated water had also been found in other areas of its property.

Miners slam demolition campaign, blame illegal small-scale mining – by Manolo Serapio Jr and Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters U.S. – August 24, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://www.gmanetwork.com/

MANILA – Miners claim the government’s environmental crackdown is a “demolition campaign” against mineral producers and are seeking to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte amid a spate of shutdowns stemming from the probe, an industry official said.

Duterte’s seven-week old government has so far suspended 10 mines, eight of them nickel, for environmental infractions, sowing fear among large-scale miners in the world’s top nickel producer that more shutdowns may follow.

The mining industry expects to push ahead with $23 billion worth of new investments from this year through 2020, but this “spirit of optimism is being shattered by … a very unstable policy outlook,” Benjamin Philip Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, said at an industry conference on Wednesday.

Bad air from Rio Tinto aluminum smelter forcing her to move, Kitimat resident says – by Andrew Kurjata and Robin Batchelor (CBC News British Columbia – August 23, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

Move highlights continued battle between company and community over air quality in Kitimat

A Kitimat woman says she is being forced to leave the community due to sulphur dioxide emissions coming from Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum smelter. Sheena Cooper blames an increase in SO2 [sulphur dioxide] in the air for a spate of asthma attacks that have put her in hospital and on increased medication.

“At this point, it’s we need to get out of this town so I can get healthy again,” Cooper said of the decision to move her, her husband and their two children to the nearby community of Terrace.

Cooper said she’s suffered from asthma since she was five years old, but until this year its effects have been mild. That changed in March, when she suffered a series of attacks and had to check into hospital seven times. She is now using prednisone, antibiotics and a higher dose of inhaler.

Lone Norwegian mayor accuses Russian oligarch of fouling the Arctic: When will Oslo follow? – by Anna Kireeva (Bellona.org – August 23, 2016)

August 24, 2016

http://bellona.org/

KIRKENES, Norway – Following a gathering of politicians and citizens in this town earlier this month, calls from its mayor to forbid travel to a Russian oligarch for his hand in polluting Northern Norway have intensified.

Norilsk Nickel, produces a third of the world’s nickel with facilities on the Kola Peninsula, which Norwegian and other scientists have said are responsible for extremely high concentrations of sulfur dioxide on their side of the border, something Rosprirodnadzor, Russia’s official government environmental watchdog has long denied.

But Rune Rafaelsen, mayor of Kirkenes told Bellona in an interview that he’s tired of watching as nothing is done to solve the 26-year-old crisis, and is appealing to Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment to hit Norilsk Nickel where it hurts.

NEWS RELEASE: Study finds arsenic contamination from Giant gold mine wiped out key algae and invertebrates from lake near Yellowknife (University of Ottawa – August 17, 2016)

August 19, 2016

A study led by researchers at the University of Ottawa and published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B has found that a lake ecosystem was severely affected by arsenic contamination from the Giant Mine, which produced over seven million ounces of gold while it was active, between 1948 and 2004. Over 20,000 tonnes of toxic arsenic trioxide were released from the Giant Mine’s roaster stack over the years as part of its process to extract gold from arsenopyrite ore.

The team of researchers relied on a paleoenvironmental approach, extracting core samples of lake sediments to show how lake contamination increased after mine began operations, and how the lake’s ecosystem responded to that contamination.

“Many species of algae and invertebrates were killed off in Pocket Lake, near Yellowknife, by pollution from the mine’s roaster stack, and these species have not recovered even now, more than ten years after the mine closed,” says lead author Joshua Thienpont, a postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa.