Restigouche Mine Care and Maintenance Phase

The province of New Brunswick assumed environmental and public safety responsibilities in 2009 for the former Restigouche lead and zinc mine. Since then, we’ve been involved in daily environmental monitoring of the mine and are implementing reclamation activities.  We revisited the original reclamation approach and evaluated several alternate closure approaches to find the best option to reduce closure costs and site liability. The goal is to reclaim the site so it’s physically and chemically stable for both the short and long term.

One of the greatest liabilities of former mines can be acid mine drainage, which if not treated and contained can pollute nearby water sources and harm aquatic ecosystems and plant life. As part of the progressive reclamation process, we designed and managed a sludge relocation project, and managed the movement of acid generating waste rock to the open pit to eliminate acid generation. We also manage a yearly dewatering campaign to treat acid runoff from the site.  For all these projects, we provided inspection and design services, materials testing and reporting, supervision of construction, and final construction reports.