Researchers look at how N.W.T.'s Giant Mine closure plan can consider climate change

Yellowknife residents had a chance this week to learn more about a research project that's looking at how a changing climate could affect the management and remediation of legacy mine projects, like Giant Mine.

A drop-in session was hosted on Wednesday by a research group undertaking a three-year project focused on how the mining sector can adapt to climate change. The Climate Ready Mine project is being led by RFS Energy and the University of Guelph and is funded by the federal government with in-kind support from the Giant Mine Oversight Board. 

The research group hopes its work will be applicable in a wider northern context, and for other mines as well.

Nicolas Brunet, an associate professor at the University of Guelph who's helping lead the project, says there is very little known about the topic.

"I had a student working with us for the last year who did a complete review of industry documents, everything, scoured the internet — and our knowledge of how climate will impact [mine] closure planning is in its infancy," said Brunet.

He added that the researchers aren't looking to critique the work now happening around Giant Mine's closure, but rather to use the high-profile mine site as a jumping-off point to explore some of the issues.

"We don't have any guidance right now, and so you kind of have to invent it as you go," said Brunet.

Branda Le, executive director for the Giant Mine Oversight Board (GMOB), says the project and its outcomes will be helpful for assessing how climate change should be factored into the mine's perpetual care plan.

Brunet said they hope the research project will offer a different perspective on what mine closure could look like, with a  focus on the environmental and human impacts even hundreds of years into the future.

This week's information session in Yellowknife was a first step toward keeping the community informed about the research work, and to get some local input.

"It's really important for us to talk to people who live here and hear their experiences, and get an understanding from the people that live here," said Laura Guerrero Sanchez, the CEO of RFS Energy.

"And so we wanted to introduce the project in person and be able to have these dialogues and hear feedback." 

One of the goals of the project is to develop an assessment tool to determine how different elements of a mine closure plan can be adapted in response to the impacts of climate change.  

Sanchez says that could be useful to Indigenous governments, NGOs, and the mining industry itself as it develops final closure plans. 

A major part of the Giant Mine Remediation Project is determining the long-term management of 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust at the site. The current method of storing it underground was determined as the best temporary solution by the remediation team.

Having an assessment tool would help the GMOB determine a long-term plan for dealing with the arsenic trioxide that accounts for climate change, the researchers suggest.