Denis Tegg (denitegg@WAVE.CO.NZ)
Sat, 23 Mar 1996 14:19:40 +1200
Message-ID: <199603230219.OAA16223@Axil.wave.co.nz>
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 1996 14:19:40 +1200
From: Denis Tegg <denitegg@WAVE.CO.NZ>
Subject: US MINING COMPANY MUST MOVE TOXIC WASTE DAM
To: Multiple recipients of list CIVIL-L <CIVIL-L@unb.ca>
COMPANY TOLD TO MOVE DAM
Changes Likely to Cost Millions
By Paul Gregory
New Zealand Herald 23 March 1996
US gold mining company Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp may face having to spend
millions of dollars shifting its massive mine waste dam after a surprise
recommendation by officers of the Waikato regional council, Environment Waikato.
Council staff have recommended the company continue to use the present dam
near Waihi, New Zealand, with strict monitoring by the council, but relocate
it before the scheduled end of the mine's life in about five years.
Coeur is already embarking on remedial earthworks costing nearly $5 million
but the council staff report concludes that, while suitable for the short
and medium term they could ultimately not be enough to prevent an
environmental catastrophe.
The move - which will go before the council on Thursday - was not envisaged
in any of the eight consultants' reports sought by the goldmining company or
the council on the whole issue of the dam's stability, and has been met with
silence from Coeur officials.
The head of Coeur's operations in New Zealand, Mr Richard Weston, initially
thought the report -which he received shortly before its public release
yesterday - was a draft, then refused to comment until after a weekend of
subjecting it to thorough examination.
However, a spokesman for the anti-mining group Coromandel Watchdog, Mr
Denis Tegg, said it was "illogical and dangerous" to acknowledge uncertainty
about the dam's long-term stability but nevertheless allow its continued use
for a period prior to the mine's closure.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Upton, has already sought advice on
the document and said he would follow the decision of the council "very
closely."
The council's group manager of resource use, Mr Alistair Wilson confirmed
that the relocation option came from council staff, describing it as their
"synthesis" of all the available reports.
Mr Wilson said the company would have to help with the council's inquiry
into a new waste storage facility, starting as soon as possible and
preferably forming part of an already-scheduled review of the mine's closure.
He confirmed one of the options the council believed the company should
consider was using the open mine pit - from which Coeur is still taking ore.
That suggestion has been met with incredulity from Mr Tegg, who said the
pit was closer to the Waitekauri River and - because of it being
crisscrossed with historical mine shafts - probably extremely difficult to
seal against seepage.
Mr Wilson said such questions would be examined in its investigation -
which would also detail the process used for bringing a new site into
commission, including ensuring the dam was stable and safe once it shut down.
Denis Tegg
P.O.Box 143
Thames
New Zealand Ph +64 7 8688872 Fax +64 7 8689580
email denitegg@wave.co.nz