Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Mine Remediation Project

On this page

• Overview
• Project goals and a shared vision
• Remedial actions to address issues at the site
• Engagement approach
• Work done to date
• What's next

Overview

Rayrock is a former uranium mine located approximately 145 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It is a federal contaminated site under Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's (CIRNAC) custodianship. The site was abandoned by Rayrock Mines Ltd. at mine closure in 1959 and excluded from lands selection by the Tłı̨chǫ during their comprehensive land claims process. Their comprehensive land claims process ultimately led to the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement.

Rayrock is located in the traditional territory of the Tłı̨chǫ Nation. The Tłı̨chǫ are particularly concerned over impacts the site may have had on the health of mine workers, families who lived near the site during mining and downstream environmental impacts in the community of Behchokǫ̀.

The Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project will include work on:

• the former Rayrock Mine site
• the Sun Rose advanced exploration sites
• 6 satellite exploration sites
• a barge landing site
• a power line

The clean-up of these sites are bundled under 1 project because of how close they are to each other, reducing the impact to the environment and overall costs.

The largest of the sites to be remediated is the former Rayrock Mine. Rayrock Mine was an underground uranium mine that Rayrock Mines Ltd. operated from 1957 to 1959. During operations, approximately 70,000 tonnes of ore were processed. This yielded 207 tonnes of uranium concentrate. Due to failure to find a significant quantity of ore, the mine closed within 2 years. It was abandoned in 1959.

Canada initially remediated the site in 1996, to the standards set at that time by the Atomic Energy Board, the regulator. The remediation included covering tailings and sealing all entries to the underground mine with either concrete or large rocks. Although this work made the Rayrock area safer to visit, some areas of the property were still a risk to the surrounding environment. In 2017, CIRNAC confirmed that further remedial work was needed to address these risks and remediation planning began.

The Rex property

The Rex property is another former uranium exploration site, located approximately 150 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. It sits on the southeastern shoreline of Sheldon Lake. The site is within the boundaries of the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement on Tłı̨chǫ lands. Although it is identified as "Horn Plateau" in maps, the site is not geographically related to the actual Horn Plateau, an area further south. Different groups conducted mineral exploration between the 1950s and mid-1970s, with the primary focus being uranium.

Text alternative for the map

A grid-like map showing the sites to be remediated under the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Mine Remediation Project, as well as a dotted line showing the winter road that connects the sites. The map is outlined on 4 sides with directions and coordinates in degrees and seconds in a border. From left to right, the sites are the Rex property, TED, MK, the former Rayrock Mine, GS, the Sun Rose Claim Group (consisting of the Sun Main, Sun East, and Rose sites), and the former Barge Transfer Station. At the bottom of the image on the left, there is a smaller map showing where the former Rayrock Mine is in relation to the communities of Behchokǫ̀, Gamètı̀, Yellowknife and Hay River. At the bottom of the image on the right, there is a map scale showing 0-, 250-, 500-, and 1000-kilometre stretches.

Project goals and a shared vision

The Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Mine Remediation Project goals include:

• using approaches that are cost-effective and risk-based
• restoring the land using industry best practices of:
  • Traditional Knowledge
  • science
  • engineering
• working with Indigenous rights holders in all project stages to:
  • build positive relationships and trust
  • protect traditional lands and water
• planning for effective closure and monitoring, including community involvement in monitoring where warranted

CIRNAC and the Tłı̨chǫ Government worked together to develop a Remedial Action Plan between 2018 and 2020. This led to the development of a shared vision for the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project: to effectively carry out the remediation of the Rayrock project sites and shrink the "Zone of Avoidance". The zone is an area the Tłı̨chǫ currently avoid due to concerns over site impacts. Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders mapped out the area around the Rayrock site that falls within the zone. The shared goal is for the Tłı̨chǫ to feel comfortable returning to traditional land use practices in the area.

This shared vision can only be upheld through knowledge transfer of:

• traditional land use on and around the sites
• human health and environmental hazards associated with the site
• environmental quality on and downstream of the sites
• how our remedial options will address site risks

The shared vision affirms that the Tłı̨chǫ will be involved at all stages of the project, including:

• remedial options planning
• design development
• remediation execution
• post-closure monitoring

Remedial actions to address issues at the site

Remediation at the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) project sites is expected to take approximately 3 years and will include:

• The clean-up of sediment in Mill Lake, which was contaminated by uranium. The Project will pump out water from Mill Lake, treat it to remove the suspended solids in the water, then discharge the clean water in Sherman Lake. The Project will place sediment from Mill Lake in geosynthetic tubes and pile them together in the Confined Disposal Facility. The tubes will be covered with tailings, waste concrete and waste rock, and then capped with a geomembrane liner and clean soil. The bottom of Mill Lake will be graded to drain into Sherman Lake through Mill Creek, which is the same place that the lake drains into now. The lakebed will be planted over with local plants, that is, revegetated, as part of site restoration work.
• Covering and capping tailings. At the Rayrock Mine, operators deposited radioactive tailings on land in 2 containment areas that were covered with engineered tailing caps. These must be repaired and stabilized to avoid future erosion of the uncontaminated soil on top of the tailings.
• The closure of mine openings at both the Rayrock and Sun Rose sites with covers made of polyurethane, rock, concrete, or stainless steel. This is to keep people and animals from falling in. Though mine openings were closed under the 1996 clean-up program at the Rayrock Mine, the Project will now close them in a way that meets today's engineering standards.
• Capping waste rock and blast pits and burying these blasted areas under clean soil, which would then be another area to revegetate. At both the Sun Rose and Rex properties, the Project will collect waste rock piles, material from exploration pits and sediment showing slightly elevated radiation levels into blast pits and cover them with clean soil. This will prevent people and animals from being exposed to radioactivity.
• The off-site removal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The Project will ensure all debris, hazardous, and non-hazardous waste at Rayrock, Sun Rose, Rex and other sites is sorted and stored safely at either the Sun Rose or Rayrock storage areas until it can be trucked offsite to an approved facility in the south that accepts and processes this waste. Any waste that does not meet Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission requirements for safe handling will report to the Confined Disposal Facility.
• Construction and operating of winter road spurs into the Rayrock and Sun Rose sites.

Engagement approach

Communication and engagement efforts are an integral part of the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project's work plans and the ongoing management of the Project. The project team wants to ensure the Tłı̨chǫ are aware of the risks associated with the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) mine site and can meaningfully participate in moving the remediation forward.

Regular engagement activities from 2010 to present have increased understanding of the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) site. Through these activities, CIRNAC has also gained an understanding of:

• the Tłı̨chǫ's traditional land use in the area pre-development
• their involvement at the site during mine operations
• how they currently view the site and surrounding land and water today

To date, CIRNAC has involved Tłı̨chǫ communities throughout this project by carrying out regular engagement and working group meetings, and funding annual Tłı̨chǫ-led field programs. CIRNAC will continue to inform Tłı̨chǫ members of ongoing project updates and in turn continue to gain Traditional Knowledge insight from Tłı̨chǫ Elders, through regular consultations with the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee and the Tłı̨chǫ Government. A formal Tłı̨chǫ-CIRNAC Project Governance Agreement guides how the 2 governments will work together as partners in the remediation project.

Work done to date

2024

Active remediation began at site. The project team continued to engage with and update the Tłı̨chǫ Government, the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee and Tłı̨chǫ youth at the annual Tłı̨chǫ Mine Remediation Update meetings in Behchokǫ̀. The annual meeting was themed "Healing the Land and the People" and over 30 Tłı̨chǫ Elders, youth, and citizens from all 4 Tłı̨chǫ communities attended.

2023

In July 2023, the Tłı̨chǫ Government and the Government of Canada signed a Project Governance Agreement that guides how the 2 governments will work in partnership to oversee all aspects of the Project.

Sanexen, the remediation contractor, began winter road construction into the Rayrock site from the Wekweètı̀ winter road. Mobilization to site began this year.

2022

The remediation contract for the project was awarded to Sanexen Environmental Services Inc. in November 2022.

2021

As part of the regulatory process, the Wek'èezhı̀ı Land and Water Board held Public Hearings for the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project's applications for a Type A Water Licence and Land Use Permit. Having a Type A Water Licence and Land Use Permit allows the project team to take the next steps to remediate the site, such as finalizing plans and obtaining approvals according to the requirements of the licence, and tendering work packages.

2020

The project team formally submitted its applications for a Type A Land Use Permit and a Type A Water Licence to the Wek'èezhı̀ı Land and Water Board (WLWB) in September 2020. Any project in the Wek'èezhı̀ı Resource Management Area that involves the use of land, water, or deposit of waste has to apply for a Water Licence and Land Use Permit, per the Mackenzie Valley Resources Management Act. The Water Licence and Land Use Permit are regulatory instruments that allow the board to set conditions for projects around their use of the land, water, and deposit of waste.

The Project is also regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, who administers the Waste Nuclear Substance Licence for the Project. This licence was issued to CIRNAC for the long-term management and monitoring of radioactive substances at the Rayrock site.

2019

The project team prepared for their regulatory submissions to the Wek'èezhı̀ı Land and Water Board, drafting and updating documents such as

• the Remedial Action Plan
• an Engagement Plan and Record
• other management and monitoring plans

The Rex property was checked again in the summer of 2019 to verify the work needed to clean up the property.

2018

A Tłı̨chǫ Traditional Knowledge study and an Elders' site visit was completed this year. Site assessments and testing results were presented to the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Elders for a review as part of the Remedial Options Analysis Workshop, so the project team could begin developing a Remedial Action Plan.

The Project completed its geotechnical assessments and designs. At Sun Rose, the team conducted additional work to better understand the radioactivity and contamination. Data collected from this program was used to verify the site will not be a risk to people or animals after it is remediated.

2017

CIRNAC confirmed that further remedial work was required to address existing risks, and remediation planning began. The project team finalized the Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment and completed a Remedial Options Analysis and a Class-C cost estimate. The project team identified Mill Lake as a contaminated site; they initiated a conceptual design to address the issue as a result.

2010-2016

Across the Rayrock, Sun Rose, and Rex properties, the project team completed more detailed site assessments during each year's field season (in the summer months) to fully identify and understand the risks at site. They performed site characterization studies, as well as tested water, soil and sediments to begin preliminary non-hazardous waste collection and consolidation.

2015

CIRNAC continued to strengthen their partnership with the Tłı̨chǫ through increased site visits to Rayrock and Sun Rose, off-site watershed tours, multi-day stays at the site, and site sampling and monitoring trips guided by the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee.

2014

CIRNAC hosted a Rayrock Risk Workshop in Behchokǫ̀, where the project team brought in trusted subject matter experts to hear the concerns of the Tłı̨chǫ, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the NWT and the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission's Chief Mines Inspector.

2012

The project team conducted mapping exercises with the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee and other Tłı̨chǫ Elders to better understand the historic transportation route.

As a result of this, the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee identified an "exclusion zone" around the Rayrock site, within which they don't feel safe carrying out traditional land use activities. CIRNAC and the Tłı̨chǫ have developed a shared vision for the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project of reducing the exclusion zone from several kilometers wide, down to the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) site boundaries themselves.

2011

The Project team completed the Performance Assessment Report in 2011 and a new monitoring frequency and proposed scope for the site.

2010

The Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà Elders Committee was established to discuss community concerns about the site and to offer the Kwetı̨ı̨ɂaà (Rayrock) Remediation Project team a direct link to Tłı̨chǫ Elders to discuss findings from investigations and develop options and plans for the clean-up.

2009-2010

The project team initiated performance assessments to review the current conditions of the site since the 1996 reclamation activities, to compare it against more current reclamation objectives and closure criteria.

1998-2009

Completed a short-term monitoring program and developed a long-term monitoring program, followed by 10 years of annual monitoring conducted as a regulatory requirement of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Waste Nuclear Substance Licence.

1996-1997

The department completed initial remediation of the Rayrock Mine site to the standards set at that time by the Atomic Energy Board. Work included:

• sealing all mine openings and ventilation shafts
• relocating radioactive material from the dump to the tailings piles
• capping the tailings with a thick layer of silt-clay
• revegetation

What's next

As of 2024, active remediation of the project is expected to take 3 years, followed by demobilization and site closure.

CIRNAC and the Tłı̨chǫ will develop a Long-Term Monitoring Program followed by a 3rd party Performance Assessment Review after 5 years of monitoring. Long-term monitoring programs ensure that remediation measures are effective and working as planned.

The Rayrock site will remain the Government of Canada's responsibility, likely in perpetuity. The site will remain subject to a Waste Nuclear Substance Licence to manage the legacy tailings and Mill Lake sediments at site. Long-term monitoring will continue under this licence and may determine further requirements in the future. The Tłı̨chǫ will remain actively involved with all aspects of long-term monitoring.