Reclamation specialist favored

A Vancouver-based company has been selected as the preferred bidder by Rio Algom (TSE) to decommission its former Quirke and Panel uranium mines near Elliot Lake, Ont.

Regarded as one of the largest decomissioning projects ever undertaken in the U.S. and Canada, the work to be undertaken by Reclamation Management (TSE) will involve the dismantling of the underground and surface facilities at the Quirke I, Quirke II and Panel mines which have been shut down since 1990. Reclamation Management is also set to undertake re-contouring work and site remediation to ensure that the soil around the mines meets with standards outlined by the federal Ministry of the Environment.

Pending final negotiations between the two companies, Reclamation President David Hayes said he expected the contract to be worth about $10 million after the cleanup is completed and all of the equipment is sold.

Rio Algom has already set aside $125 million for decomissioning and site reclamation at Quirke and Panel and an agreement with Ontario Hydro provides that the utility will cover costs associated with the closing of its remaining Stanleigh mine in 1996.

However, a Rio Algom spokesman said work undertaken by Reclamation Management should not be confused with the future reclamation of millions of tons of acid generating, mildly radioactive tailings around the uranium mine sites. That project will not begin until Rio Algom gets the go-ahead from the Ottawa-based Atomic Energy Control Board and the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office.

If, as expected, the Reclamation Management project gets under way in August, Hayes said he would probably hire 60-70 people from the Elliot Lake region and subcontract some of the work to local companies. “Depending on circumstances, the work could be done by next September,” Hayes said. With an operating office in Idaho, Reclamation Management is doing similar work for New York-based Asarco and cathode copper specialist Arimetco International (TSE). Hayes said he expects the work load to increase as governments introduce tougher reclamation rules across North America. Shares of Reclamation Management traded recently at $1.25 in a 52-week range of $1-1.40.