Life after Meadowbank: Exploring gold mine closure scenarios with the residents of Qamini’tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut

Rixen, A.; Blangy, Sylvie

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2015.09.003

Cited by 22 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Since the IGM activity was started in that region, the rubber field was changed into the IGM field. This result is in approval with the previous study [13,26]. [4,7,15,27].…”

Section: Environmental Sectorsupporting

confidence: 90%

The Influence of Illegal Gold Mining (IGM) on Environmental, Economic, and Educational Sectors of Muara Mensao Village, Jambi

Susanti¹,

Hidayat²,

Sartika³

et al. 2019

KEG

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“…Since the IGM activity was started in that region, the rubber field was changed into the IGM field. This result is in approval with the previous study [13,26]. [4,7,15,27].…”

Section: Environmental Sectorsupporting

confidence: 90%

The Influence of Illegal Gold Mining (IGM) on Environmental, Economic, and Educational Sectors of Muara Mensao Village, Jambi

Susanti¹,

Hidayat²,

Sartika³

et al. 2019

KEG

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“…This gap arises from a variety of factors. First, in spite of a growing literature on the socio-economic dimensions of closure as part of the 'mining cycle' (Laurence, 2006;Halvaksz, 2008;Pini et al, 2010;Browne et al, 2011;McDonald et al, 2012;Keeling and Sandlos, 2015;Rixen and Blangy, 2016;Kivinen, 2017;Bainton and Holcombe 2018), remediation is often overlooked in public and scholarly debates over cumulative environmental impacts, social license, and community engagement (Smith, 2014;Langhorst and Bolton, 2017). Second, mine remediation is dominated by engineering and environmental expertise around geochemistry, hydrology, and risk management, and debated in highly technical forums like environmental assessment hearings.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking remediation: mine reclamation, environmental justice, and relations of care

Beckett

Keeling

2018

Local Environment

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To date, research on mine remediation in North America has focused primarily on technical management; relatively less is known about the historical, political and social dimensions of remediation. Remediation, as a continuation of the mining process, alters local landscapes and economies and can be both dangerous and beneficial for surrounding communities. Because remediation projects tend to focus on the technical aspects of clean-up, such projects risk overlooking the environmental injustices associated with past development and obscuring blame or responsibility from industry and government for environmental degradation. Insofar as it is understood as cleaning up or repairing environmental damage, remediation is generally seen as 'doing the good' and is less amenable to political or ethical challenges based on community concerns or values. This paper argues that greater attention needs to be paid to public participation and justice concerns associated with cleaning up mine sites. Drawing from the literatures on ecological restoration, environmental justice, reconciliation, discard studies, and perpetual care, we highlight critical, yet overlooked issues in the remediation of post-mining landscapes. We argue that remediation projects present a unique opportunity for the negotiation and articulation of morals, values, histories, and physical experiences associated with mine sites and we seek to re-frame remediation as an ongoing, creative process of community healing.

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“…This means that the next and final closure plan for Meadowbank will be the first to include any discussion of human risks, which is far too late for local, regional, and territorial authorities to assess. In contrast to this scant coverage of socio-economic closure issues, Rixen and Blangy (2016) found that local residents near Meadowbank have concerns about community violence, stress, and food security when the mine closes and suggest strategies for improving community resilience. Based on its closure plan, the company has not engaged with the local knowledge and concerns about closure planning that exist within this community.…”

Section: Socio-economic Impactsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Planning for social and community-engaged closure: A comparison of mine closure plans from Canada's territorial and provincial North

Monosky

Keeling

2021

Journal of Environmental Management

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The inevitable closure and remediation phase of a mine's lifecycle routinely causes negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts for nearby communities. While closure planning is meant to ensure post-closure human and environmental safety, it tends to favour short-term technical fixes over longer-term socioeconomic , cultural, and ecological considerations. For mines operating on Indigenous territories, where communities have complex and nuanced connections to land and varying levels of jurisdiction, these issues are further exacerbated by the exclusion of Indigenous voices from planning and decision-making. This research employed a qualitative document analysis of ten mine closure plans for mines in Northern Canada that are still operational to understand how the industry is actively planning for the closure and remediation of their sites. In particular, this work asks whether or not mine companies are incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into their mine closure plans, and how they are addressing the complex socioeconomic aspects of closure. This analysis showed that mine closure plans across Northern Canada inconsistently apply Indigenous Knowledge and expertise, and the methods used for community consultation in mine closure planning are left vague. While differences in policy between Northern territories and regions account for some of these inconsistencies, a company's willingness to work beyond baseline requirements imposed by governments is also an important factor. Additionally, these closure plans further demonstrate that the industry prioritizes technical aspects of mine closure over the social, cultural, economic, and ecological. For mine closure to be successful in a Northern context it must incorporate community expertise, emerge from the values and priorities of the Indigenous peoples whose lands mines are operating on, and account for a wider scope of social, economic, and cultural impacts.

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Life after Meadowbank: Exploring gold mine closure scenarios with the residents of Qamini’tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

The Influence of Illegal Gold Mining (IGM) on Environmental, Economic, and Educational Sectors of Muara Mensao Village, Jambi

The Influence of Illegal Gold Mining (IGM) on Environmental, Economic, and Educational Sectors of Muara Mensao Village, Jambi

Rethinking remediation: mine reclamation, environmental justice, and relations of care

Planning for social and community-engaged closure: A comparison of mine closure plans from Canada's territorial and provincial North

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