Mining Company Penalized $50,000 for Failing to Report Release

An inspection of the Meadowbank Gold Mine revealed seepage from the tailings impoundment area into an area immediately next to a fish-bearing waterbody. The mining company hadn’t reported the release to an Environment and Climate Change Canada inspector or to the territorial spill line. The company pleaded guilty to violating the Fisheries Act by failing to notify an inspector following the unauthorized deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish. The court ordered it to pay $50,000, which will be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund [Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., Govt. News Release, May 5, 2017].