Eight figures of provincial government cash will be going to a Manitoba company to remediate an old mine site near Leaf Rapids.
The province announced it had awarded a $45 million contract to clean up the former Ruttan mine site March 1, giving the contract to Dauphin-based Strilkiwski Contracting Limited. The mine, located about 10 kilometres due east of Leaf Rapids at Ruttan Lake, began operation in 1973 under mining company Sherritt Gordon and led to the creation of Leaf Rapids itself in the 1970s. At its peak, more than 2,300 people called Leaf Rapids home, most of whom worked at the Ruttan mine. The mine closed down in 2002, with the community seeing a sharp decrease in population afterward.
As per the government contract, Strilkiwski Contracting will improve drainage at the mine site, deal with an amount of contaminated water at the site and divert clean water away from the mine site. Contaminated water will be sent into the mine’s open pit, where it will be treated and later discharged. The mine’s exposed tailings will also be covered as part of the remediation. It is estimated that about 5.5 million cubic metres of water will need to be treated every year between present day and 2026.
As of March 1, the province estimates that the project is about 30 per cent complete, with about 60 per cent of the covering material hauled and placed. The job is slated to be completed by fall 2022, while the province has issued a request for proposals for companies willing to treat the wastewater and keep surveillance of the site.
“The SCL Project Team and dedicated employees are very pleased to be involved in this major endeavour,” said Gerald Strilkiwski, president of Strilkiwski Contracting in a provincial government press release.
“It will create a positive effect on the environment while contributing a much-needed boost to the local economy by providing jobs to local and Indigenous workers and businesses.”
Strilkiwski Contracting was also tapped by Hudbay to do remediation work on its Reed mine once it closed in July 2018.
