Graphite Mine Status

Graphite Mine site Effluent Monitoring

Graphite Mine in Kearney: Background & July 2024 Update

Background: The Graphite Mine in Kearney is located in the NE corner of the Municipality of Kearney about 20 km from the downtown area and is accessed via Forestry Tower Road. It was owned and operated by Ontario Graphite Ltd. (OGL) until 2022. In the past, Ontario Graphite had difficulty keeping the effluent discharge into the Magnetawan River within allowable levels.

KWEF has been monitoring the effluent stream just before it enters the river. This monitoring point is beside Forest Tower Road and is not on mine property.

In June 1994, the site was put into a Temporary Suspension State when operations at the mill facilities ceased.

In 2011, the site's status was changed to a Production State by OGL. Due to financial constraints the mine did not actually go into production and has remained in a "care & maintenance" state awaiting additional funding.

OGL's repeated difficulty in meeting the required limits in its Environmental Compliance Agreement (ECA) led the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to issue a Director's Order (DO), due to elevated levels of toxic discharge into the Magnetawan River. MECP also issued fines, which OGL appealed.

In October 2019, a settlement was reached whereby the historical DO's were rescinded and replaced by a new DO outlining new actions to be taken.

Originally, the drainage from the Tailings (mill waste) area was collected in an area called the "Polishing Pond", where lime was manually added to neutralize the acidic wastewater and precipitate metals. Under the new DO, OGL was to install an automated liming and monitoring system to treat the contents of the polishing pond in the hope that the effluent parameters would always be within limits. OGL was also supposed to dredge and increase the depth of the polishing pond so that it could handle spring runoff and summer storm water without overflowing.

In January 2020, KWEF got word that OGL had filed for creditor protection and the firm Deloitte was appointed to handle the case.

In April 2020, Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (ENDM) stepped forward in a "caretaker role" to forestall any environmental issues, while a purchaser was sought for the Mine. The automated system was installed and appears to have reduced the toxic exceedances, but dredging and deepening of the polishing pond was not completed at that time.

In May 2022, the graphite mine in Kearney was sold to G6Energy Corp., https://gsixenergy.com/, and they plan to reopen the mine for production. Since the purchase, G6Energy Corp has been entirely responsible for management of the graphite mine.

In May of 2023, Graydon Smith, the minister of Natural Resources, toured the graphite mine with a team from G6Energy to promote the mine. This link provides more information about the tour: https://www.gsixenergy.com/media/g6-energy-corp-team-tours-kearney-graphite-mine-with-minister-of-natural-resources-and-forestry-graydon-smith

July 2024 Update: In June, KWEF contacted the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), North Bay Area Office to get an update on the current situation at the graphite mine.

Here is the update …

“the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is continuing to sample at the site on occasion, generally in the Spring and Fall. The owners of the site have also been continuously sampling and monitoring as required by their Environmental Compliance Approval and the issued Director’s Order. They completed dredging of the polishing pond in the summer of 2023. Since the dredging, the frequency of exceedances has decreased, specifically for metals and total suspended solids. pH and acute toxicity continue to be a challenge at the site.”

The automated liming and monitoring system is still being used to regulate the effluent from the polishing pond. The main site for measuring effluent is at the base of the dam holding the polishing pond water, but measurements are also taken in the mixing area and in the Magnetawan River.

Despite the liming process, the graphite mine continues to regularly exceed their effluent limits at the site.

KWEF believes it is essential that toxic effluent from the mine site be contained and treated before the mine is allowed to go into production.

G6Energy Corp has not yet been able to open the graphite mine for production and the reopening does not seem imminent, possibly because the price of graphite is not high enough.  If the mine were put into production, water from the polishing pond would be used in the mining process which could reduce the amount of wastewater discharged from the polishing pond into the Magnetawan River.

Further information on graphite can be found here: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-metals-facts/graphite-facts/24027