The Faro Mine and Rose Creek Tailings Areas release highlevels of contaminants that need to be prevented from entering Rose Creek.The pie chart below shows zinc loadings that would reach Rose Creek in the long term if no remedial actions are taken.
Mine Area1,400 tonnesper year
Tailings Area1,200 tonnesper year
The five overarching objectives for remediation were agreedby Canada, Yukon, Selkirk and Kaska:1. Protect human health and safety2. Protect and, to the extent practicable, restore theenvironment, including land, air, water, fish and wildlife3. Return mine site to an acceptable state of use thatreflects pre-mine land use where practicable4. Maximize local and Yukon socio-economic benefits5. Manage long term site risk in a cost-effective manner.
Groundwater below the tailings is contaminated with sulphate and metals. Iron and manganese concentrations below the lastdam are already sufficient to cause significant contamination of Rose Creek, and are expected to increase over time. Zinc and other metals are expected to arrive in future.
Water in Faro Main Pit, and in backfilled Faro Zone 2 pit is acidic and metalcontaminated
Waste rock slopesare potentiallyunstable
Many buildings are unsafe and contaminated
Waste rock and tailings are acid-generating, metal-leaching, hostileto vegetation and exposed to directcontact by people and animals
Intermediate Damfoundation is liquefiablein a Maximum CredibleEarthquake
Secondary Dam foundation is liquefiable in a Maximum Credible Earthquake
Rose Creek DiversionChannel is too small tosafely convey a Probable Maximum Flood
Faro Creek Diversionthreatened by pit slope failure
Diversions channels andspillways are too smallfor design floods