Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM) denies there’s anything wrong with a mine near Flin Flon, Man., that was decommissioned in the early 1990s.

This week an environmental group called the Wilderness Committee came forward with test results of water samples taken at the site of the former Spruce Point Mine, which is in Grass River Provincial Park. 

The group says the samples came back as extremely toxic and says copper and nickel concentrations were well above established guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.

Hudbay says the site was reverted to the Manitoba government in 1994.

It says the company was told the former mine site is in excellent condition to the point where it’s difficult to tell there was ever a mine there.

Hudbay also says it revisited the site in 2012 and with help from government and conservation authorities it began a program to vegetate certain areas and clean up garbage that had been left by others.

The Wilderness Committee wants the government to eliminate industrial activity such as logging and mining in Manitoba’s provincial parks.

"The existence of such a contaminated site within a provincial park is a profound contradiction to the idea of a protected area, and shows a tremendous lack of responsibility on the part of HudBay and the Manitoba government," said Ramsey Hart of MiningWatch Canada.

"More and more Manitobans are coming to the conclusion that we need to protect our boreal bogs, and want the government to act," said Eric Reder of the Wilderness Committee. "They can start by restoring damaged areas one at a time, and by having the company that polluted this wetland clean it up."

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This article by the Canadian Press also appeared online at MySask.com.

Photo: Water samples collected at the Spruce Point Mine site (Eric Reder).