News Release - July 24, 2014

Water collected from former Spruce Point Mine site “extremely toxic”

WINNIPEG – As the world focuses on the importance of bogs and wetlands for International Bog Day on Sunday, July 27, the Wilderness Committee is drawing attention to a small patch of Manitoba’s vast system of bogs: a northern provincial park wetland that was left polluted with heavy metals from mining.

Toxicity tests conducted on water from the site of a decommissioned mine in Grass River Provincial Park have revealed serious and ongoing water quality issues, including extremely high concentrations of several toxic substances that pose a threat to aquatic life.

Water samples were collected by the Wilderness Committee from a bog at the former Spruce Point Mine site, and were assessed by an independent lab in Winnipeg. The mine, operated by HudBay Minerals until it was closed in 1993, has since been heralded by the company and by the Manitoba government as a success story when it comes to mine remediation.

After reviewing the water sample test results, MiningWatch Canada confirmed that the water was “extremely toxic and well above established guidelines for the protection of aquatic life for eleven different parameters.” The copper and nickel concentrations were also found to exceed Canada’s very permissive federal metal mining effluent regulations, while the concentrations of cadmium, cobalt and copper were high enough to be considered acutely lethal to fish.  

“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.    

The water contamination at the Spruce Point Mine site is of particular concern because this wetland bog seeps into Reed Lake – a large lake essential to the culture, ecology and economy of the region.

“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, Campaign Director with 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.”

“Bogs across the province – especially in all of our provincial parks – should be safeguarded. Banning industrial development in all Manitoba’s parks would help give these fragile wetlands the protection they deserve.”

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

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For more information, please contact:

Eric Reder | Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee Manitoba

eric@wildernesscommittee.org, (204) 997-8584

Additional links:

Video/B-roll of Spruce Point Mine site –
https://vimeo.com/58669721
Password: $pruc3P01nt

Manitoba Government document showing “rehabilitation” of Spruce Point Mine site –
http://www.abandoned-mines.org/pdfs/presentations/MBOrphanedAbandMineProgramARMITT.pdf

Review of Water Sample Testing Results –
https://wildernesscommittee.org/sites/all/files/2013_MWC_WaterTestingResults_SprucePointMine.pdf