The government of Ontario has begun rehabilitating the defunct Kam Kotia base metals mine, near Timmins.
The province spent $8 million to build a ditch to catch ground and surface water tainted by nearby tailings, as well as a lime treatment plant. It will spend $2 million to relocate unconfined tailings and construct a dam designed to contain tailings run-off.
Sulphide-bearing tailings cover an area of more than 5 sq. km and discharge acid mine drainage into local creeks and rivers.
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is in the final year of a 4-year, $27-million program aimed at rehabilitating abandoned mine sites.
In the first year of the program, rehabilitation was carried out at 36 sites. In the following year, work and studies were conducted at 13 sites, and more than 4,000 sites were assessed.
In 1961, Kam-Kotia Mines installed a 900-ton-per-day mill on the property. Operations ceased in 1972. In 1988, the mining and surface rights were forfeited to the Crown.
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