GREENSTONE — Work is being done to re-establish a diverted creek at the Greenstone Gold Mine location south of Geraldton.
A wash-out of the Goldfield Creek Diversion Channel happened during the spring thaw in May of this year.
The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks confirmed that the mine reported the collapse with the snow melting and high water levels, caused the diverted creek to erode and collapse.
By mid-May, the mine was issued a notice of violation by the province under the Ontario Water Resources Act for impairing water quality. Greenstone Gold Mines is now required to have a plan on how the problem will be remedied, prevention plans for further soil and sediment erosion, as well as impacts on the environment.
The ministry confirmed that personnel had attended the site in June for an assessment along with staff from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada. It was noted that soil erosion had continued, thus causing more erosion, bank failures and washout which happened along the diversion channels and impacted the passage itself, along with water quality and the fish habitat.
As a result of that visit in early June, the mine was ordered to have a control plan laid out and implemented. They were also advised to hire a qualified inspector who would evaluate the work being done at the site in question.
Currently, the mine has met the conditions of the Notice of Violation that the ministry issued. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be overseeing the re-design and restoration of the fish habitat. The provincial ministry indicated that the mine would have the re-design completed by the end of October.
As indicated in an email from the province, it's possible that with the restoration work that is to be done, the mine might need to obtain new approvals for the site under the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act, according to a representative at the Ministry of Environment's office.
Greenstone Gold Mines did confirm that work on the diversion channel is scheduled to start in the winter of 2024 and noted through email to TBnewswatch that there was some turbidity in the water during the heavy spring thaw,
"We had some elevated levels of turbidity during spring freshet but have not seen any impact to fish spawning as the fish were witnessed spawning during the spring spawning season," a Greenstone Gold spokesperson said in a statement. "GGM installed sediment controls to reduce the turbidity and subsequently additional erosion control measures were put in place."
The provincial ministry pointed out, "[They] will continue to oversee the immediate situation and hold GGM accountable to address impacts to the environment and prevent future sediment release."