July 2024 Newsletter
https://bit.ly/KWEFJuly2024Newsletter
Included in this issue:
Update on Volunteers Needed for KWEF
Graphite Mine in Kearney: Background & July 2024 Update
Lake Partner Program Data for Kearney Watershed Lakes
Don’t Pick the Water Lilies & Signs Available
Update on Volunteers Needed for KWEF
Thank you to those of you who have expressed interest in volunteering, particularly those who are going to help deliver our Waterfront Owner’s Packages – these are going out shortly.
We are still looking for people to help us immediately with other projects.
The Environmental committee is looking for half a dozen people. Each person would pick an “area” from the list below and become knowledgeable about that area so that they could become a resource for KWEF and the community at large. Here are some large general “areas requiring attention:”
1. Invasive species
2. Blue Green Algae
3. Best practices to avoid using pesticides & herbicides
4. Litter, pollution & illegal dumping
5. Shoreline destruction/restoration projects
6. Septic maintenance & wells
7. Endangered species
8. Graphite mine compliance
KWEF has worked on problems involving most of these topics over the years but we have not had the manpower to focus on any of them on a continuous basis or at great depth.
We are not involved in enforcement. We teach and provide people with information so that they can make good decisions. We also gather data and information to facilitate the above process and on occasion we may need to physically work with the public to solve a problem.
If you are able to help us, please contact our Chair, John Kelly: john.kwef@gmail.com,
or our Secretary / Treasurer, Stan Walker: stan.kwef@gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
Graphite Mine in Kearney: Background & July 2024 Update
Photo of: Reference Site S1 Magnetawan River, Upstream of the Graphite Mine. Photo by: Stan Walker, May 28, 2023
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 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
Lake Partner Program Data for Kearney Watershed Lakes
The Lake Partners Program (LPP) is a free program run by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE). LPP volunteers submit a water sample from their lake each spring that MOE test for total phosphorous (TP) and calcium. The volunteer also measures water clarity, (using a Secchi disk), each month and submits that data to MOE each fall. MOE publishes all this data from hundreds of lakes in a huge spreadsheet. To make the data from the Kearney Watershed more easily accessible, KWEF extracts the data for our lakes from this spreadsheet and publishes it on our website, Newsletter and in the WQM report. We monitor TP data closely because phosphorous is considered one of the elements responsible for algae blooms
The 2022 data is now on our website. Here is a link to the data on our website: https://www.kwef.ca/datagathering/lake-partners-program. The data divided into Calcium, Total Phosphorus and Chloride levels, as well as Water Clarity. There is also some information on Interpreting the Data – so check out your lake!
Many thanks to Stan Walker for his dedication to this project and all his time and his hard work extracting the data from the gigantic MOE spreadsheet.
Don’t Pick the Water Lilies & Signs Available
Water lilies are important players in the aquatic ecosystem. These plants are found in shallow and still fresh water, as in ponds, lakes, and the edges of slow-moving streams. Because they rest on the water's surface, the flowers and pads provide shade, keeping the water cooler and preventing algae that thrive in heat from growing in excess. Water lilies also shelter fish from predatory birds and the heat of the sun.
Timothy Brown, of Scarlett Point Resort, 61 Main St, Kearney, www.scarlettpoint.ca has made some signs that he posts at his resort asking his guests not to pick the water lilies in the water.
Timothy is offering to make the signs for those of you that rent their properties as short term rentals.
The signs would be free for those who sign up as a new KWEF supporter*.
If you would like one of these signs, please contact us at newsletter.kwef@gmail.com
*We’d love it if you could be a 2024 KWEF supporter - only $10. Every little bit helps! We accept e-transfers at treasurer.kwef@gmail.com. This is an auto-deposit account, so no security question is required.
We'd love it though, if you could also send a quick email to stan.kwef@gmail.com with your name and contact information, so that we can thank you for your support.