Giant Mine Remediation Project

The Giant Mine Remediation Project’s primary goal is to protect human health and safety, and the environment. To do so requires the long-term containment and management of the arsenic trioxide waste, water treatment and the surface clean-up of the site.

Between 1948 and 2004, the Giant Mine was a major economic driver for Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. When the mine closed, attention focused on the environmental issues left behind, notably 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide stored in underground chambers.

The Remediation Project proposes to leave a new and positive legacy behind: a site that will provide an opportunity for many future uses by the community, as determined by the community.

The Giant Mine Remediation Project Team is comprised of staff from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The main objectives of the Giant Mine Remediation project are to:

• minimize public and worker health and safety risks;
• minimize the release of contaminants from the site to the surrounding environment; and
• remediate the site the site in a manner that instills public confidence.
• implement an approach that is cost-effective and robust over the long term;

The Giant Mine Remediation Project is funded through the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.