Deloro Mine Site – From the Valley of Gold through to Cleanup and Restoration
By Mark Priddle, P.Geo., VP of Sustainable Communities with McIntosh Perry
Gold mining of this skarn deposit began in the 1860’s and the site progressed from gold to arsenic extraction and then to other industrial production over the next 100-plus years. These activities left a legacy of impacts that eventually came under the control of the Ontario Government. Cleanup of the tailings area and the industrial and mine area at this site was recently completed.
The presentation will explore the history of mining at the site and review the various activities that resulted in impacts to soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water. The plan and execution of the cleanup will also be presented with a focus on geoscience aspects and risk reduction. There are several unique aspects to the site and the cleanup that are of interest to all geoscientists, including radiological impacts, tailings management, arsenic treatment and on-site waste consolidation.
About Mark Priddle, P.Geo., FGC
Mark is presently the VP of Sustainable Communities with McIntosh Perry (a multi-disciplinary science and engineering firm). He has been involved in hydrogeology and contaminated site projects across Canada over the last 35 years. He has worked as both a government scientist and private consultant on a wide range of contaminated sites (tank farms to abandoned mines). During the cleanup of the Deloro Mine Site he was the coordinator of specialist on the Contract Administration team.
Mark is presently the President of Geoscientists Canada and is a former President of the APGO.
