
Decades of mining operations at the Giant Mine outside Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT) have resulted in the burial of thousands of tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust, a by-product of ore processing. The interaction of this water soluble dust with the groundwater flowing around and through the mine workings amounts to an ongoing source of groundwater contamination that, left unchecked, will remain a problem, almost in perpetuity. Intera senior staff were called upon by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, NWT Region, to provide multi-year peer review services related to selection of preferred management alternatives for this massive environmental liability, as part of the Independent Peer Review Panel (IPRP). Intera provided expert review services on hydrological and hydrogeological issues, and continue to be involved in the Giant Mine IPRP.