2012 Call for Papers FINAL 36th Annual BC Mine Reclamation Symposium

The BC Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation invites you to our 2012 Symposium.

This years BC Mine Reclamation Symposium will take place at the Kamloops Convention Centre, BC from September 17 – 20, 2012. 

Please note the deadline for the abstract is April 16, 2012

The British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) invites papers for oral presentation and posters that address a wide range of reclamation issues from planning to closure. 

Please e-mail abstracts (approximately 300 words) by April 16^th, 2012 to:

Dirk van Zyl, University of British Columbia

e-mail:  *protected email*

Telephone (604) 827-3462    Fax (604) 822-5599

Final papers are due by June 15^th, 2012.

Other conference activities will include field tours of the Samatosum Mine and Kamloops-area grasslands reclamation, as well as the annual BC Mine Reclamation Awards banquet.

Final papers will be published and accessible post-conference on the University of British Columbia library site – cIRcle.

Please check the new TRCR website for periodic updates to symposium information at:

www.trcr.bc.ca

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SUMMARY/REPORT OF THE AWARDS SUBCOMMITTEE

2011 Presentation of the 2010 Mine Reclamation Awards

Presented at the Reclamation Awards Reception
November 30th, 2011, Vancouver, British Columbia

View / Download: Related News Release  |  Award Presentation

INTRODUCTION

Thirty five years ago, the British Columbia TRCR established a Reclamation Award to recognize outstanding achievement in mine reclamation in British Columbia. In addition to this major award, the committee may also recognize reclamation successes through category awards for metal mining, coal mining, sand and gravel, quarries, placer mining and mineral and coal exploration.

The awards may recognize work of major or minor extent, and may be the result of a group of people or a single person’s activities. These awards are assessed based on:

• quality in research
• innovation in techniques
• quality of work undertaken,
• extent of land reclaimed
• work of a high standard that has been conducted over a number of years.

This year the awards committee received 10 nominations in 5 categories. However, the nominations were assessed based on results achieved. The committee commended the efforts to date and looks forward to seeing future nominations from these and other sites that describe continued efforts and reclamation results. This does not reflect an absence of good work, but rather the need for continued efforts, and the time required until results are clearly demonstrated.

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ANNUAL BRITISH COLUMBIA JAKE MCDONALD RECLAMATION AWARD

The recipient of the 2010 British Columbia Jake McDonald Mine Reclamation Award was Northgate Minerals for their outstanding reclamation achievements at Kemess South Mine.

The Kemess South Mine has won the reclamation award in the Metal Mining category for the past two years, and was also last year’s winner of the BC Mining and Sustainability Award. The work completed to date at Kemess continues to represent one of the largest scale reclamation projects currently being implemented in British Columbia.

The mine is located in remote, mountainous terrain, approximately 300 km northwest of Prince George. Kemess South is situated in the subalpine, where vegetation growth is limited by severe climate and minimal soil resources. Approximately 600 hectares of disturbed area requires reclamation to an end land use objective of wildlife habitat. To date, Northgate has completed progressive reclamation on approximately 250 hectares focusing on surface preparation and revegetation on the tailings dam, tailings beach, borrow pits, and the main waste rock dump.

Mill Creek Access Road Reclamation -- work completed in 2005 with photo taken in 2009

Northgate has remained committed to the belief that landscape preparation is key to facilitating natural processes that will lead to self-sustaining ecosystems. At the site, this approach has involved the placement of large volumes of growth medium and a rough and loose surface preparation. Native species have been used extensively in planting efforts. Limited availability of these species for purchase has lead the company to conduct annual native seed collection campaigns. To date, over 750,000 stems of various native species have been planted around the site.

Northgate was also being recognized for its exemplary demonstration of adaptive management practices. Reclamation strategies, particularly in challenging areas, are not always successful on the first attempt. At Kemess, reclamation work is being monitored and measures have been taken to modify plans to address less effective practices. For example, extensive surface preparation was completed on the tailings dam between 2008 and 2010 with a goal of minimizing erosion and encouraging ingress of native vegetation. This included construction of water diversion features, rough and loose preparation and coarse woody debris placement on slopes. However, despite stabilization efforts, rainfall events in the summer of 2010 caused erosion rills and gullies to form on the main dam slope. Northgate recognized that efforts to date were not sufficient to control erosion and so during past summer further work was done. Rills and gullies were mapped out and these features were armoured using 4000 burlap sacks filled with barely-infused peat to provide filtration for surface flows and organic matter to the dam face. The 30 hectare area was then hydroseeded with a high elevation native seed mix to enhance vegetation establishment for erosion control. The seed mix included endomycorrhizae-infused compost tea to provide nutrients for conifer establishment. This area will continue to be monitored to make sure reclamation objectives are being met.

Other key work conducted at Kemess South this year included ongoing construction of the closure spillway and reclamation of the tailings beach. The beach has been armoured with rip-rap to prevent erosion and exposed areas have been covered with overburden and planted with a mixture of lodgepole pine, subalpine fir and white spruce. Areas adjacent to the spillway have been progressively contoured and made rough and loose in preparation for planting.

Reclamation of borrow areas has been carried out since 2005 and reclamation is largely complete. Ongoing vegetation monitoring has lead to additional planting and the use of bioengineering techniques such as live pole staking and wattle fences. Borrow 10 has undergone extensive recontouring, surface preparation and drainage control work in 2010 and live pole drains were installed in 2011. Preliminary observations indicate that this work has been very successful in controlling water flow and stabilizing the slopes.

Work has also continued at the main waste rock dump. Full-scale resloping commenced in 2009 and surface preparations were completed. Vegetation trials were also started on lower slopes of the dump in 2009 to assess the best planting density for promoting development of self-sustaining ecosystems. In 2010 and 2011, 106,000 lodgepole pine seedlings, 65,000 willow plugs, 36,000 white spruce, 40,000 arctic lupin and 18,000 alpine milkvetch were planted. All conifers were planted with fertilizer tea bags and the entire surface has also been broadcast seeded by representatives of the Takla Lake First Nation. The majority of the dump has now been resloped and planted, with the only remaining areas to be reclaimed being the access roads and refuse landfill.

A very significant activity that was completed during 2011 was the rehandling and backfilling of 7.6 million tonnes of potentially ARD generating waste rock into the open pit for permanent subaqueous storage and ARD prevention. After relocation, the dump area was recontoured to facilitate drainage and a thick overburden layer was applied. The area has been planted with pine, spruce, arctic lupine and willow, and the entire area has been broadcast seeded with a native species mix.

Northgate continues to demonstrate a strong ongoing commitment to achieving reclamation success at Kemess South. Work being completed is reducing the site’s liabilities and setting a benchmark for reclamation efforts at B.C. mines. Throughout this work they have involved First Nations and also supported graduate student research. Solid results reflect the innovative and hard work of staff and management at this site, in particular Harold Bent, Georgia Lysay and Jennifer McConnachie.

Harold Bent was called to come forward and accept the 2010 British Columbia Jake McDonald Mine Reclamation Award on behalf of Northgate Minerals Corporation.

(L-R) Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of BC TRCR; Harold Bent, Northgate Minerals; and David Morel, ADM, Ministry of Energy and Mines

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2010 SAND AND GRAVEL AWARD

The award for outstanding achievement for reclamation at a sand and gravel operation was awarded to Lafarge Canada Inc.’s Abbotsford Gravel Sales Ltd.

In 2006, the gravel reserves from the Abbotsford Gravel Sales operation were depleted. Around the same time, it was also recognized that there were limited legal clean fill locations in the lower mainland that were available for the construction industry. Too often this waste was being disposed of on highly valuable agricultural land.

Lafarge Canada partnered with the City of Abbotsford to help solve this problem by creating a legal clean fill disposal site at their mined-out gravel operation. This partnership solved a significant problem for construction contractors and allowed city officials to have more control over where fill was being dumped, while also providing a reclamation solution to Lafarge.

Since this gravel operation was in an area zoned for industrial use, there was no requirement to reclaim the site back to agricultural land, but Lafarge recognized another opportunity, this time for partnership with the Agricultural Land Commission. In 2008, the company proposed the idea of working with neighbouring property owners to mine sand and gravel reserves in the surrounding 85 acres. These properties would be mined and backfilled successively using a staged approach, with progressive reclamation back to Class A agricultural use. In addition, the site of Lafarge’s initial 30 acre gravel pit would be reclaimed to agricultural standards. This not only ensured no net loss of valuable agricultural land, but also created a net benefit.

During the process of acquiring approval to mine the new gravel reserves, Lafarge completed wildlife, fisheries and water quality studies as well as undertook consultation with local stakeholders. Reclamation activities involved clean fill disposal back to within 1.6 metres of grade and then applying an 80 cm thick layer of sand for drainage and 80 cm of topsoil for growth medium.

To date, 7 acres of previously mined land have successfully produced their first winter wheat crop and an additional 10 acres of land were planted and seeded this fall. The operation is now progressing onto parcels of neighbouring properties in 5 acre increments using these methods that will establish a domino-effect of extraction and reclamation.

Aggregate resources will always be required for development and maintenance of infrastructure. This operation was commended for its innovative thinking for solving problems, for seeking out strategic partnerships and for its progressive reclamation achievements. Kevin Tokarek, Bob Esau and Brad Kohl were called to come forward and accept the Award for outstanding Sand and Gravel Reclamation at Lafarge’s Abbotsford Gravel Sales.

(L-R) Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of BC TRCR; Brad Kohl, Bob Esau and Kevin Tokarek, Lafarge Abbotsford Gravel Sales; and Dave Morel, ADM, Ministry of Energy and Mines

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2010 METAL MINING AWARD

The Award for outstanding achievement for reclamation at a metal mine was presented to Thompson Creek Mining Ltd. for work at the Endako Mine.

The Endako Mine is an open pit molybdenum mine located in central British Columbia, midway between Prince George and Smithers. Mining activities at Endako began in the mid 1960’s, and since that time, approximately 1600 hectares of mining disturbance has occurred. The reclamation goal for the site is to return the land to a variety of wildlife habitat similar to the surrounding areas. To date, progressive reclamation activities have focused on the 640 hectares of tailings management facilities, of which 480 hectares are in various stages of reclamation.

The key challenge with reclamation on the tailings embankments at Endako is the need to establish sustainable vegetation growth on steep sandy slopes that have poor moisture retention and very limited nutrients.

Beginning in the 1980’s, a variety of reclamation techniques that were developed through research trials, have been applied to the embankments. Hydroseeding was completed using a site-specific mix of drought tolerant grasses and legumes and a heavy application of wood fibre. The wood fibre was an important addition to increase moisture retention in the well drained sand and for the establishment of a moss layer. The development of a moss layer also increased moisture retention and helped to stabilize the embankment surface.

In 1990 the North Dam of Tailings Pond 1 was planted with lodgepole pine, hybrid spruce, Douglas fir, and eastern larch. This site is now exceeding productivity objectives with 91% total vegetation cover. Trees are producing viable cones and young trees can now be found among those planted in 1990. The ground cover in these areas has been naturally invaded by a number of species, while at the same time the agronomic species are receding. An impressive and healthy ground cover of lichen, mosses and fungi has established and indicates progression towards a sustainable forest ecosystem.

Endako mine has also demonstrated reclamation success with direct placement of soil salvaged from other areas of the mine. In 1999, reclamation staff seized the opportunity to salvage soil, including root systems and woody debris, for direct placement in areas that were ready for reclamation. The natural seed bank in the soil allowed these sites to achieve natural regeneration of shrubs and deciduous trees. During the following year, lodgepole pine was planted to address the absence of conifers. Notably, this area was exceeding productivity objectives within 8 years.

Direct placement of salvaged soil is now part of standard practice for reclamation staff at Endako. The most recent success was salvage and placement of soil over a 30 hectare area of Tailings Pond 2 in 2010. Applying the learning’s from the earlier work, care was taken to include organic material, woody debris, root systems and tree stumps in the salvage efforts. Piles of soil were placed on the pond area and the dozer operator was instructed to prevent compaction by making only one pass over the material during spreading. This technique also helped established desirable micro-environments as a result of uneven spreading. Within weeks, natural vegetation was emerging. Douglas fir was planted in 2010 and 2011 and the site is already showing signs of significant natural regeneration.

Endako was commended for recognizing the significant value of direct placement of salvaged soils. The results are impressive and represent good lessons that should be applied to this and other sites wherever possible.

Barb Riordan was called to come forward and accept the award for outstanding Metal Mine Reclamation at the Endako Mine, on behalf of Thompson Creek Mining Ltd. The TRCR also recognized Barb Riordan for her personal commitment to reclamation success of tailings areas at Endako.

(L-R) Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of BC TRCR; Barb Riordan, Endako; and Dave Morel, ADM, Ministry of Energy and Mines

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LAST YEAR’S WINNER

It is customary to present a keeper trophy to last year’s recipient of the Annual British Columbia Jake McDonald Mine Reclamation Award, for the safe return of the coveted “Jade Trophy”.

Last year’s winner was Lehigh Materials for outstanding reclamation achievements at the Sechelt Mine. The Sechelt Mine was recognized for its innovative and sustainable approach to reclamation, including strong and lasting partnerships with local communities and First Nations. Sophie Mullen was called upon to accept the keeper trophy on behalf of Lehigh Materials.

(L-R) Sophie Mullen, Lehigh Materials; Kim Bellefontaine, Ministry of Energy and Mines; and Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of BC TRCR

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2011 TRCR Members

2011 Tours

Above – Images from the tour of Suncor’s reclaimed oil sands (Fort McMurray, Alberta).
Click on any of the images to expand view and use your keyboard arrow keys (← or →) to navigate.

Above – Images from the tour of reclaimed Gregg River and Luscar mines and operating Cheviot mine (Hinton, Alberta).
Click on any of the images to expand view and use your keyboard arrow keys (← or →) to navigate.

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NEWS RELEASE

Best Practices in B.C. Mine Reclamation Planning and Closure Showcased at Vancouver Reclamation Awards Reception

VIEW THE FULL REPORT ON 35TH ANNUAL MINE RECLAMATION AWARDS

Vancouver, B.C.  –  The British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) presented the 35th annual B.C. Mine Reclamation Awards on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 in Vancouver, B.C.

(L-R) Ben Chalmers, Outgoing Chair BC TRCR; Harold Bent, Northgate Minerals; David Morel, Ministry of Energy and Mines

The recipient of the 2010 British Columbia Jake McDonald Annual Mine Reclamation Award is Northgate Minerals Corporation for their outstanding reclamation achievements at the Kemess South Mine, located approximately 300 km northwest of Prince George. Northgate has demonstrated ongoing commitment to achieving reclamation success at Kemess South. Throughout reclamation the company has taken a holistic approach that centers around the philosophy that adequate landscape preparation will help lead to self-sustaining ecosystems.

“Northgate Minerals and their reclamation staff have demonstrated exemplary adaptive management practices at the Kemess South Mine,” said Ben Chalmers, outgoing Chair of the Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation. “The commitment to achieving successful reclamation is setting a benchmark for reclamation efforts at mines in BC.”

Thompson Creek Mining Ltd. was awarded for reclamation efforts in the metal mine category for their Endako Mine, located approximately half way between Prince George and Smithers. Thompson Creek Mining Ltd. staff are commended for recognizing the value in direct placement of salvaged soil. The re-vegetation results are impressive and provide an example for other sites across the province.

Lafarge Canada Inc. received the Sand and Gravel Reclamation Award for the Abbotsford Gravel Sales Ltd. site. Lafarge is commended for its innovative practices, partnership development and commitment to progressive reclamation that is returning mined areas back to agricultural land while increasing the gravel available for mining.

British Columbia is a global centre of excellence for the reclamation of both historic and operating mineral exploration and mine sites. Mineral exploration and mining in B.C. employ over 26,000 people and contribute over $7 billion annually to the B.C. economy. There are currently 20 major coal and metal mines in operation in B.C. The Mine Reclamation Symposium provides a forum for sharing knowledge that ensures today’s practices benefit the environment both now and into the future.

About the Technical & Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR):

The TRCR originated, and first became active, in the early 1970s in response to a demonstrated need in the British Columbia mining sector for greater government-industry communication in the area of environmental protection and reclamation. Membership is drawn from industry, provincial and federal government agencies, exploration and mining associations, and universities and colleges. The Committee meets to discuss matters of joint concern and interest, exchange experiences, plan activities, and prioritize research needs. It sponsors the B.C. Mine Reclamation Symposium and studies on reclamation-related issues.

For more information, contact Ben Chalmers, outgoing Chair, B.C. Technical & Research Committee on Reclamation at *protected email* or 613-293-5111 or contact the award recipients directly.

Contact Info For Award Winners

BC Jake McDonald annual mine reclamation award:

Northgate Minerals Corporation
Kemess South Mine
Harold Bent, Environmental Manager
250-877-7855 direct
250-877-9411 cell

Metal Mine Category Reclamation Award:

Thompson Creek Mining Ltd.
Endako Mine
Barb Riordan, Environmental Superintendent
250-699-6211 ext 304

Sand and Gravel Category Reclamation Award:

Lafarge Canada Inc.
Brad Kohl, Vice President
604-455-603 (direct)
604-230-5132 (cell)

Or

Kevin Tokarek, Operations Manager
604-455-6205 (direct)
604-312-8947 (cell)

Download a printable PDF version:

In 2011, two scholarships were awarded to the following students:

Paul Antonelli – Thompson Rivers University, 4th year undergraduate student year in Natural Resource Sciences

Jordan Clark – University of Victoria, 4th year undergraduate student in Earth Sciences

2011 Scholarship winners and student helpers at the Mine Closure Conference, scholarships presented by Barb Riordan, Endako Mines (middle)

More about the Jake McDonald Memorial Scholarship, including Student Information on nominations and/or scholarship applications

Yulian “Kevin” Shi from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary

The 2011 Science Fair Recipient

Yulian “Kevin” Shi ,from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary whose project was titled – Marvelous Mites, the effects of food combinations on C. Lactis reproduction, received the 2011 Science Fair Award.

Kevin was a member of Team BC at the Canadian Wide Science Fair representing the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair.

More information on the Science Fair Award, including previous Science Fair Award recipients, is available on the Awards Page.

Please contact *protected email* for further information.

RECOGNIZING OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MINE RECLAMATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

For over thirty years, the British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation established a Reclamation Award to recognize outstanding achievement in mine reclamation in British Columbia.

In addition to this major award, specific awards are given by category to recognize merit in mining reclamation in Coal and Metal Mining, Exploration Programs, Sand, Gravel and Quarries, and Placer Mining Operations.

This year, we are celebrating our annual Jake McDonald Reclamation Award & Reclamation Category Awards with a reception at the Delta Vancouver Suites.

TICKETS

Order: trcrminereclamationawards.eventbrite.com
Reception: 5:30pm
Awards: 6:30pm
Tickets: $20 + processing

If you have any questions or problems ordering please contact Michelle at *protected email*

Date:

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 5:30 PM (PT)

Location:

Delta Vancouver Suites
550 Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Thank you for making Mine Closure 2011 a successful event!

Over 600 delegates from 30 countries attended the 35th Annual TRCR Symposium running in collaboration with the the 6th annual Mine Closure conference at the historic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta Sept. 18-21, 2011.

This 4-day event exceeded all expectations with a record turnout of attendees and sponsor dollars. The organizing committee solicited over $300,000 in conference sponsorship funds and $4,000 from a BHP Billiton diamond raffle.

The conference offered an assortment of programs and activities including:

• Eight pre-conference short courses.
• Fifteen plenary speeches.
• A total of 124 technical presentations during five parallel breakout sessions.
• A tour of Suncor’s fully reclaimed tailings impoundment in Fort McMurray.
• Two post-conference tours to Hinton, Alberta and Kimberley, British Columbia.

Above – Images from the tour of Suncor’s reclaimed oil sands (Fort McMurray, Alberta).
Click on any of the images to expand view and use your keyboard arrow keys (← or →) to navigate.

Above – Images from the tour of reclaimed Gregg River and Luscar mines and operating Cheviot mine (Hinton, Alberta).
Click on any of the images to expand view and use your keyboard arrow keys (← or →) to navigate.

Over 120 authors submitted technical papers used to construct conference proceedings. The Editorial Committee received a wealth of research and writing with nearly 400 abstract submissions. Consequently, the committee accepted double the number of papers initially anticipated.

Among the most popular sessions was the 5-member panel discussion representing all stakeholder voices on mine closure. Facilitated by Gord McKenna of BGC, the session and audience participation generated a spirited dialogue between panel members.

The organizing committee will donate all conference proceeds after expenses to reclamation research at the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia.

Conference Chair, Les Sawatsky, extends gratitude to everyone who participated and supported this successful conference.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the proceedings from the conference, you may contact the Australian Centre for Geomechanics.

Mine Closure 2012 will take place September 25-27, 2012 in Brisbane, Australia. Further information can be found at www.mineclosure2012.com.

The TRCR wil return to the usual independent format for the BC Reclamation Symposium in 2012 and look forward to working with Inmet and the team at Samatosum to organize the symposium and field trip in Kamloops.

NEWS RELEASE

Port Hardy, B.C. – May 13, 2011 – The British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) is pleased to make a donation to support the Quatse River Fish Hatchery, located just outside of Port Hardy.  The TRCR is contributing $1,900 plus taxes to allow the hatchery to purchase stainless steel tables for its wet laboratory.

Ken Fuller - Manager

“This will complete the wet lab infrastructure for the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre allowing us to offer the facility for potential local research and studies” said Ken Fuller, Manager of the Quatse River Hatchery. “We are thrilled to have the current support of the TRCR, as well as the previous support of BHP Billiton when construction was initiated. It has been a huge endeavor for our volunteer directed community not-for-profit association to bring the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre to reality.  We are very pleased with the valued partnerships obtained through the construction and ultimately thrilled with the new facility.”

As part of the Annual BC Reclamation Symposium, held in Courtenay, BC in September, 2010, approximately 100 reclamation practitioners and experts from industry, academia and government toured the Quatse River Fish Hatchery while visiting BHP Billiton’s nearby closed Island Copper mine site.  “The TRCR is grateful to the Quatse River Hatchery for providing BC’s mine reclamation professionals with an opportunity to learn about what is being done to enhance fish populations on Vancouver Island” said Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of the TRCR.

“Sharing information about different reclamation techniques is a core goal of the BC Reclamation Symposium and to be able to learn about successful fish enhancement practices was enormously valuable and greatly appreciated” stated Chalmers.  “It serves to highlight the important role of science and diligent efforts in achieving any restoration goals”.

Reclamation specialists gathered in Courtenay, BC in the fall of 2010 to learn from each other and observe firsthand the  recent reclamation work at the Mount Washington Copper Mine near Courtenay as well as the results of extensive reclamation efforts at the Island Copper Mine near Port Hardy.  BHP Billiton partnered with the Quatse River Fish Hatchery to make it possible for participants of the Reclamation Symposium to tour the hatchery.

About the Technical & Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR):

The TRCR originated in the early 1970s in response to a demonstrated need for greater government-industry communication in the area of environmental protection and mine reclamation. Membership is drawn from industry, government and academia.  The TRCR organizes the Annual B.C. Mine Reclamation Symposium; the 2011 symposium will be held in collaboration with the 6th annual International Mine Closure Conference to be held in Lake Louise, Alberta, from September 18 to 21, 2011. (www.trcr.bc.ca for registration information)

For more information, contact Ben Chalmers, Chair, Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation at 778-828-2607 or *protected email* or visit www.trcr.bc.ca

Download a printable PDF version:

The 35th Annual TRCR Symposium will run in collaboration with the 6th International Mine Closure Conference (MC 2011).

Please read: Ben Chalmers’ message to all potential BC Reclamation Symposium Participants.

This annual not-for-profit conference has been presented in various parts of the world by the Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG) and the Centre for Land Rehabilitation (CLR) and is now for the first time being presented in the Northern Hemisphere.

The conference is designed to provide an opportunity for networking among multi-disciplinary mine closure specialists from various parts of the world, to promote the exchange of ideas, the latest research findings and to provide a forum for the development of best practices in mine closure.

The conference program is geared toward engineers, tailings cappings specialists, reclamation scientists, public engagement facilitators and economists. With a strong line-up of plenary speakers, short courses and site tours – this year’s conference promises to include a wide range of interesting and compelling issues related to mine closure.

Golder Associates, who has been entrusted by the ACG and CLR to organize Mine Closure 2011 is pleased to advise that any profits generated from the conference will be donated to the University of Alberta for mine closure research.

More information can be found on the Mine Closure website.

Justin Straker accepts the Book Award from Bill Price, NRCan.

Abstract from the winning paper:

Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada is the centre of mining extraction of oil sands (bitumen) resources on a large scale – currently three mining operators produce approximately 1,000,000 bbl per day on a footprint of approximately 50,000 ha. Although Fort McMurray is the population centre associated with this development, the indigenous community of Fort McKay is at the epicenter of the existing mine developments. The residents of Fort McKay view human and environmental health as inextricably linked, and thus the effects of development and subsequent reclamation is experienced on both cultural and ecological levels. Fort McKay is actively engaged in working with the local mining companies on issues of mine reclamation design, but for these reclamation efforts to be meaningful to local people, they must take into consideration more than ecological functionality and address the linked social factors. One method of addressing linked social and ecological issues is through use of the Cultural Keystone Species (CKS) concept. CKS – salient plant or animal species with a defining influence on a particular culture — offer a culturally meaningful tether for communities with landscapes in transition. This paper will present results of the application of the Cultural Keystone Species (CKS) model in the community of Fort McKay as a mechanism to address social, ecological and spiritual values in regional mine-land reclamation. Through a literature review and extensive community interviews, five CKS were identified and used to focus discussions and ultimately recommendations for relevant land reclamation within Fort McKay traditional territory. This community-based collaborative project illuminated environmental, social and policy implications for local communities and industry partners.

 

Download the award winning paper

About the Tony Milligan Book Award