Raising the Mining Stakes
By Julia Wodiak, Member of Environment North
Originally published in the Chronicle Journal on Saturday October 25, 2008.
Currently, the Ontario Government is reviewing the 100 year old provincial Mining Act. This article explores some of the environmental costs and the increased oversight which is required in regulating mining activity, especially in the cleanup of abandoned mine sites. There are over 5,700 abandoned mining sites in Ontario of which 4000 are potentially hazardous to the environment and/or public health and safety.