WSP Golder wins contract for Faro Mine rehabilitation

Photo courtesy Government of Canada.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has awarded a contract to WSP Golder for regulatory support services for the Faro Mine rehabilitation project.

“This complex remediation project represents one of the worst contaminated historic mine sites in all of Canada,” says Neil McQuitty, a senior vice-president (SVP) with WSP Golder, “but by working together with our project, community and government partners, we can positively contribute to the remediation.”

The mine is located in south-central Yukon, near the town of Faro, on the traditional territory of the Kaska Nations and upstream from Selkirk First Nation. During operations, it was one of the largest open-pit lead-zinc mines anywhere in the world.

When the mine’s owners declared bankruptcy and abandoned the site in 1998, they left behind 70 million tonnes of tailings and 320 million tonnes of waste rock. The project has a physical footprint of approximately 25 km², roughly the size of the city of Victoria.

In 2018, the federal government took over responsibility for the care and maintenance of the site. Since then, there have been several actions to mitigate the risk the site’s environmental risks, including a realignment of the north fork of Rose Creek.

PSPC explains it has brought WSP Golder on-board for the purpose of “supporting Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board process with the screening, reporting and decision phases. The contract will also address the application and review process of a Water Licence and Fisheries Act Authorization for the remediation of the site.”

“This new contract allows our team to continue to build on the excellent work that has already taken place to ensure toxic materials from the site do not impact the surrounding communities and habitats,” says Andrew Haynes, WSP Golder’s SVP of mining.