Sä Dena Hes Mine site : teasing-apart mining-related versus naturally elevated metals concentrations in enviromental media : implications for risk management ...
The Sä Dena Hes Mine is a former lead-zinc mine near Watson Lake, Yukon Territory operated for only 16 months in the early 1990s. After operations ceased, the property was acquired by the Sä Dena Hes Operating Company, of which Teck Resources Limited was the operating partner. Between 2013 and 2015,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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The University of British Columbia
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0354382 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0354382 |
| Summary: | The Sä Dena Hes Mine is a former lead-zinc mine near Watson Lake, Yukon Territory operated for only 16 months in the early 1990s. After operations ceased, the property was acquired by the Sä Dena Hes Operating Company, of which Teck Resources Limited was the operating partner. Between 2013 and 2015, site characterization and ecological and human health risk assessments were undertaken to support permanent closure of the site. During the course of sampling, highly elevated concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc were observed in inorganic soil and even more so in organic soils (2 – 4x higher than inorganic) downgradient of waste rock areas, especially in the ‘1380 Gully’. This gully is downgradient of the 1380 adit, directly adjacent to the main mineralized zone. Similarly, lead and zinc were highly elevated in willow and alder twigs (10 – 60 ppm dw vs < 1 in reference), ground invertebrates (50 – 125 ppm vs < 2 in reference) and small mammals (10 – 45 ppm vs < 1 in reference) in this area, posing ... |
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