Source: http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=En&n=FEC85072-1&printfullpage=true
Timestamp: 2017-10-22 02:44:58
Document Index: 307932888

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'arts 1', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 1']

This document was developed to guide NPRI reporting facilities that may be affected by the recent Canada Gazette (CG) notices, and will need to comply and report tailings and waste rock to the NPRI program, for 2006 and beyond.
On April 23, 2009, the Federal Court found that the Minister erred in his interpretation of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999) by not requiring, through the NPRI, information on releases and transfers to tailings and waste rock disposal areas by mining facilities and making this information available to the public.
The Court ordered the Minister to “…publish pollutant release information to the public through the NPRI in relation to releases and transfers to tailings and waste rock disposal areas by mining facilities for the 2006 and subsequent reporting years…”
The requirements for 2006 through 2009 were published through two separate notices in Part I of the CG under the authority of section 46 of the CEPA, 1999 on December 5, 2009. The reporting deadline to comply with both notices is June 1, 2010.
Notice with respect to tailings and waste rock reporting through the NPRI for 2006 to 2008: Requirements for the 2006 through 2008 reporting years concern only NPRI substances moved to tailing and waste rock management areas at mine operations within specific mining sectors.
Notice with respect to substances in the NPRI for 2009: The requirements for 2009 reporting are very similar to those published for 2008, but the reporting requirements for waste rock and tailings can apply to any facility that generates waste rock and tailings.
The ongoing mine waste reporting requirements, for 2010 and future years, are expected to be included in future annual notices for the NPRI.
The majority of the NPRI definitions already in use were not changed as a result of the addition of tailings and waste rock reporting. The term “disposal” was significantly altered during the development of the latest two NPRI Canada Gazette Notices. You will find below the list of selected working definitions.
“Inert” is a material that does not release NPRI substances.
“Ore” is a natural mineral or bitumen deposit in which at least one mineral occurs in sufficient concentrations to make mining the mineral economically feasible.
“Overburden” is the unconsolidated materials overlying the ore (or bitumen) deposit, including but not limited to soil, glacial deposits, sand, and sediment. (Adapted from Environment Canada’s Metal Mining Code of Practice)
“Tailings”is the waste material, which may or may not be mixed with water that remains after processing of ore, ore concentrate or mined materials to extract marketable components such as metals, minerals or bitumen. This could include ground rock material, sand, clay, process chemicals or residual metals, minerals or bitumen, petroleum coke (petcoke) and sulphur.
"Waste rock" is rock which is removed in the mining process to provide access to the ore, and is not further processed during the reporting year.
The main activities associated with the mine life cycle may include:1
line cutting, drilling, trenching and bulk sampling;
development of mine workings and construction of associated infrastructure;
extraction of ore;
management of mine and site drainage;
ore processing;
disposal of waste rock, tailings and other wastes; and
Mining facilities are faced with the challenge of managing large volumes of ore, waste rock, and tailings. Figure 1 describes the typical activities of the mine operations phase.
Figure 1 - Typical activities of the mine operations phase ( Environmental Code of Practice for Metal Mines, 2009)
1. Underground mines
In underground mines, the ore is extracted through a series of vertical shafts and ramps and horizontal drifts and adits (see Figure 2). Extraction is more selective than in open pit mining, and the ratio of waste rock to ore generated is much lower. In about one half of Canadian underground mines, waste rock is used as mine backfill to provide roof and wall support underground. Waste rock that is not used for construction or as backfill is disposed of on the surface.
Figure 2 – Series of vertical shafts and ramps and horizontal drifts and adits to extract the ore ( Environmental Code of Practice for Metal Mines, 2009)
2. Ore processing
Once ore is extracted from a mine it is processed to recover the valuable minerals. Ore typically consists of small amounts of valuable minerals in close association with much larger amounts of waste minerals of no economic value (gangue). The valuable ore minerals are separated (liberated) from the gangue in milling operations to obtain higher quality metal. Major steps in ore processing include grinding and crushing, chemical/physical separation and dewatering.
3. Grinding and crushing
Grinding and crushing of ore is undertaken to physically liberate valuable minerals prior to separation by physical and chemical processes. Crushing is done dry, and is used for coarse size reduction. Grinding is used to achieve finer size reduction. Grinding is conducted wet, and chemicals such as lime, soda ash, sodium cyanide, and sulphur dioxide may be added in the grinding circuit in preparation for ore separation. Ore must be ground fine enough to liberate the ore minerals from the gangue or subsequent separation methods will not be as effective.
4. Ore separation
Ore separation may be done using physical or chemical separation methods. The end product of ore separation is an ore concentrate. After separation, some ore concentrates are sent for further processing, such as smelting, to produce pure metal for sale.
A by-product of ore separation is tailings, which are a mixture of water and finely ground rock from which most of the minerals of value have been removed. Tailings may still contain metal-bearing minerals, and the mixture may also contain residues of reagents used in ore processing.
Physical Separation Processes: Physical separation processes exploit differences in the physical properties or behaviour of mineral particles, such as size, density and surface energy. The bulk of the mineral is not chemically altered, although chemical reagents may be used to help in the separation process. Commonly used physical separation processes are as follows:
Gravity Separation: Minerals can be separated on the basis of differences in density, particularly for iron ore and gold, as well as tungsten, tantalum and niobium. Gravity separation may also be used to pre-concentrate metallic minerals prior to further processing. Gravity separation tends to require the use of smaller amounts of process reagents than some other ore separation methods.
Magnetic Separation: Minerals can be separated on the basis of differences in magnetic susceptibility. Magnetic separation has been used in Canada to separate iron ore from waste minerals, to remove magnetite (iron oxide) and pyrrhotite (iron sulphide) from base metal ores prior to flotation, and to recover magnetite from copper concentrates. Like gravity separation, magnetic separation tends to require the use of smaller amounts of process reagents than some other ore separation methods.
Flotation Separation: Flotation is used for the separation of a wide variety of minerals on the basis of differences in surface properties of minerals in contact with air and water. It is the dominant process for the recovery of base metal ores and is also used in uranium and gold processing operations. To separate minerals using flotation, fine air bubbles are introduced into a mixture of ground ore in water, known as a slurry. In this slurry, mineral particles collide with air bubbles, and minerals that favour contact with air attach to the air bubbles and float to the surface of the flotation cell. As air bubbles accumulate at the surface, a froth forms and eventually overflows as the flotation cell concentrate. Minerals that favour contact with water remain in the slurry and go to the flotation cell tailings. A number of chemical reagents are used to aid the process.
Chemical Separation Processes: Chemical separation processes involve the preferential leaching of one or more minerals, particularly for the recovery of gold, silver and uranium and in some cases copper. A number of chemical processes are used for ore separation:
Leaching with Cyanide: This is the dominant method for recovery of metallic gold or silver. A dilute solution of calcium or sodium cyanide is used to dissolve the metal. Following leaching, metals are recovered from the solution by adsorption directly from the leach slurry onto activated carbon granules or by the addition of zinc dust to the solution which causes the precious metals to precipitate from the solution.
Leaching with Sulphuric Acid: Uranium ores are processed using sulphuric acid to dissolve the uranium. The uranium is then removed from the solution using ion exchange or solvent extraction, which results in the adsorption of uranium on a resin or organic solvent. The uranium is then removed from the resin or solvent. In some cases, copper ores are also leached with sulphuric acid.
The ore concentrates obtained from most physical ore separation processes are slurries with high water content that must be dewatered prior to further processing. Dewatering involves two processes, i.e., thickening and filtration. In thickening, slurries are thickened by gravity settling. The excess water is decanted off and may be recycled in the milling processes. After thickening, the slurry is passed through a vacuum filter, which traps the particulates. Most of the remaining water is removed.
6. Mine closure
Mines are closed when the ore minerals are completely exhausted or when it is no longer profitable to recover the minerals that remain. In some cases, mines may be closed temporarily and put into a status called “care and maintenance,” also known as temporary suspension.
This is frequently done during periods of low commodity prices in the expectation that higher prices in the future will make further commercial operations financially viable. Eventually, ore reserves are depleted, and mines are permanently closed.
The above list is illustrative and not exhaustive.
Details provided for ‘Sector Description’ were obtained from Chapter 2 (pages 25-31) of Environment Canada’s Environmental Code of Practice for Metal Mines.
Figure 3 – Diagram of reportable and non-reportable mine materials
Criteria for reporting of substances
It is important to note that the NPRI substances listed in the 2009 Canada Gazette (CG) notice have not changed as a result of the addition of tailings and waste rock reporting.
A facility subject to an NPRI CG notice must consider whether the criterion for each NPRI substance is met for the year in question, to determine whether they are required to report for that substance.
1. Concentration threshold
The following concentration thresholds apply for Schedule 1, Part 1 substances:
Tailings: For substances contained in tailings, there is no minimum concentration threshold when determining whether the manufactured, processed, or otherwise used (MPO) threshold is met.
Waste Rock: For substances from Schedule 1, Part 1, Group 1, the normal 1% by wt concentration threshold applies. For substances from Schedule 1, Part 1, Groups 2, 3 and 4, there is no minimum concentration threshold.
For 2006-2008, the threshold calculation is not limited to the quantity of an NPRI substance found in tailings and waste rock. When determining whether the reporting threshold is met for a substance, the facility is required to include all of its operations/ processes in the calculation. This approach will provide greater consistency between 2006-2008 requirements and those for 2009 and onwards, where the thresholds will also be based on total quantities and is not specific to mine waste.
For 2006-2008, facilities that are subject to the CG notice would need to report on all previously reported substances from Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1, since they were already above the threshold before the inclusion of tailings and waste rock. As such, there may be cases where mines would need to report a “zero” quantity for disposals to tailings or waste rock management areas – if they exceeded the threshold for a substance due to non-mine-waste-related activities and therefore are required to report for that substance, but did not dispose of that substance to tailings or waste rock management areas. For substances that were not previously required to be reported, the facility would need to determine if thresholds were met for a particular year with the inclusion of tailings and waste rock, and report if needed.
Previously, for Part 2 substances, reporting was only required for quantities of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) that were incidentally manufactured. As such, the criteria for reporting of Part 2 substances was expanded to cover the mining industry, specifically oil sands, which do not “incidentally manufacture” PAHs if they are already present in the bitumen, by adding “as a result of the generation of tailings” to the requirements.
Table 1 below lists NPRI substances commonly associated with the chemical composition of mine tailings and waste rock. The following list is provided for your reference only – you must consider all substances in the NPRI notices.
Table 1 - NPRI substances commonly associated with the chemical composition of mine tailings and waste rock
Coal mines Antimony
Metal mines Aluminum
Oil/tar sands Aluminum
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2009). “Environmental Code of Practice for Metal Mines 2009”, TD195 M5 E58 2009.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2010). “2009 Guide for Reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory, Canadian Environmental Protection Action 1999”, publication date (to be determined).
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2009). “Notice with respect to tailings and waste rock reporting under the National Pollutant Release Inventory for 2006 to 2008”, Canada Gazette, Part I, December 5, 2009.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2009). “Notice with respect to substances in the National Pollutant Release Inventory for 2009”, Canada Gazette, Part I, December 5, 2009.
Natural Resources Canada (1994). “Handbook for Waste Rock Sampling Techniques”, June 1994.
Natural Resources Canada (1994). “Review of Waste Rock Sampling Techniques”, June 1994.
U.S. EPA (1999). “EPCRA Section 313 Industry Guidance – Metal Mining Facilities”, January 1999.
Appendix 2: 2006-2008 NPRI substances and reporting for tailings and waste rock
Part 1A Substances
Part 1B Substances
Acrylic acid(2) 79-10-7
Alkanes, C6-18, chloro 68920-70-7
Alkanes, C10-13, chloro 85535-84-8
Aluminum(3) 7429-90-5
Aluminum oxide(4) 1344-28-1
Ammonia (total) (5) *
Aniline(2) 62-53-3
Antimony(6) *
Asbestos(7) 1332-21-4
Benzoyl peroxide 94-36-0
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate 103-23-1
1-Bromo-2-chloroethane 107-04-0
i-Butyl alcohol 78-83-1
n-Butyl alcohol 71-36-3
sec-Butyl alcohol 78-92-2
tert-Butyl alcohol 75-65-0
Butyraldehyde 123-72-8
C.I. Acid Green 3 4680-78-8
C.I. Basic Green 4 569-64-2
C.I. Basic Red 1 989-38-8
C.I. Direct Blue 218 28407-37-6
C.I. Disperse Yellow 3 2832-40-8
C.I. Food Red 15 81-88-9
C.I. Solvent Orange 7 3118-97-6
C.I. Solvent Yellow 14 842-07-9
Calcium cyanide 156-62-7
Carbonyl sulphide 463-58-1
CFC-11 75-69-4
CFC-12 75-71-8
CFC-13 75-72-9
CFC-114 76-14-2
CFC-115 76-15-3
Chlorendic acid 115-28-6
Chlorine dioxide 10049-04-4
Chloroacetic acid(2) 79-11-8
3-Chloropropionitrile 542-76-7
Chromium(8) *
Cobalt(6) *
Copper(6) *
Cresol(2, 9) 1319-77-3
Crotonaldehyde 4170-30-3
Cyanides(10) *
2,4-Diaminotoluene (2) 95-80-7
2,6-Di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol 128-37-0
o -Dichlorobenzene 95-50-1
p -Dichlorobenzene 106-46-7
3,3’-Dichlorobenzidine dihydrochloride 612-83-9
2,4-Dichlorophenol (2) 120-83-2
Diethanolamine(2) 111-42-2
N,N-Dimethylaniline(2) 121-69-7
Dimethyl phenol 1300-71-6
4,6-Dinitro-o-cresol(2) 534-52-1
2,6-Dinitrotoluene 606-20-2
Dinitrotoluene(11) 25321-14-6
Ethyl chloroformate 541-41-3
Fluorine 7782-41-4
Halon 1211 353-59-3
Halon 1301 75-63-8
HCFC-22 75-45-6
HCFC-122 and all isomers(12) 41834-16-6
HCFC-123 and all isomers(13) 34077-87-7
HCFC 124 and all isomers(14) 63938-10-3
HCFC-141b 1717-00-6
n -Hexane 110-54-3
Hydrazine(2) 302-01-2
Hydrogen fluoride 7664-39-3
Hydrogen sulphide 7783-06-4
Hydroquinone(2) 123-31-9
Isophorone diisocyanate 4098-71-9
p,p’-Isopropylidenediphenol 80-05-7
Manganese(6) *
p,p’ -Methylenebis(2-chloroaniline) 101-14-4
1,1‑Methylenebis (4-isocyanatocyclohexane) 5124-30-1
Methylenebis (phenylisocyanate) 101-68-8
p,p’ -Methylenedianiline 101-77-9
N-Methylolacrylamide 924-42-5
2-Methylpyridine 109-06-8
Michler’s ketone(2) 90-94-8
Nickel(6) *
Nitrate ion(15) *
Nitrilotriacetic acid(2) 139-13-9
p -Nitroaniline 100-01-6
p -Nitrophenol(2) 100-02-7
N-Nitrosodiphenylamine 86-30-6
Nonylphenol and its ethoxylates(16) *
Octylphenol and its ethoxylates(17) *
Paraldehyde 123-63-7
Pentachloroethane 76-01-7
Peracetic acid(2) 79-21-0
Phenol(2) 108-95-2
p -Phenylenediamine(2) 106-50-3
o -Phenylphenol(2) 90-43-7
Phosphorus(18) 7723-14-0
Phosphorus (total) (19) *
Potassium bromate 7758-01-2
Pyridine(2) 110-86-1
Quinoline(2) 91-22-5
p-Quinone 106-51-4
Selenium(6) *
Silver(6) *
Sulphurhexafluoride 2551-62-4
Thorium dioxide 1314-20-1
Toluene-2,6-diisocyanate 91-08-7
Total reduced sulphur(20) *
Toluenediisocyanate (11) 26471-62-5
2,2,4-Trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate 16938-22-0
2,4,4-Trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate 15646-96-5
Vanadium(21) 7440-62-2
Xylene(22) 1330-20-7
Zinc(6) *
Mercury(6) *
Cadmium(6) *
Arsenic(6) *
Hexavalent chromium(6) *
Lead(23, 24) *
Benzo(a)phenanthrene 218-01-9
Benzo(e)pyrene 192-97-2
Dibenz(a,j)acridine 224-42-0
Dibenzo(a,e)fluoranthene 5385-75-1
Dibenzo(a,h)pyrene 189-64-0
Dibenzo(a,i)pyrene 189-55-9
Dibenzo(a,l)pyrene 191-30-0
7H-Dibenzo(c,g)carbazole 194-59-2
Indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene 193-39-5
3-Methylcholanthrene 56-49-5
5-Methylchrysene 3697-24-3
1-Nitropyrene 5522-43-0
* No single CAS number applies to this NPRI listing.
(1) CAS Registry Number denotes the Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number, as appropriate.
(2) “and its salts” – the CAS number corresponds to the weak acid or base. However, the substance includes the salts of these weak acids and bases. When calculating the weight of these substances and their salts, use the molecular weight of the acid or base, not the total weight of the salt.
(3) “fume or dust”
(4) “fibrous forms”
(5) “Ammonia (total)” means the total of both of ammonia (NH3 – CAS No. 7664-41-7) and the ammonium ion (NH4+) in solution.
(6) “an d its compounds”
(7) “friable form”
(8) “and its compounds” except hexavalent chromium compounds
(9) “all isomers” including the individual isomers of cresol: m-cresol (CAS No. 108-39-4), o-cresol (CAS No. 95-48-7) and p-cresol (CAS No. 106-44-5).
(10) “ionic”
(11) “mixed isomers”
(12) “all isomers” including, but not limited to, HCFC-122 (CAS No. 354-21-2).
(13) “all isomers” including, but not limited to, HCFC-123 (CAS No. 306-83-2) and HCFC 123a (CAS No. 90454-18-5).
(14) “all isomers” including, but not limited to, HCFC 124 (CAS No. 2837-89-0), and HCFC 124a (CAS No. 354-25-6).
(15) “in solution at a pH of 6.0 or greater”
(16) Includes nonylphenol, its ethoxylates and derivatives with CAS numbers: 104-40-5; 25154-52-3; 84852-15-3; 1323-65-5; 26523-78-4; 28987-17-9; 68081-86-7; 68515-89-9; 68515-93-5; 104-35-8; 20427-84-3; 26027-38-3; 27177-05-5; 27177-08-8; 28679-13-2; 27986-36-3; 37251-69-7; 7311-27-5; 9016-45-9; 27176-93-8; 37340-60-6; 51811-79-1; 51938-25-1; 68412-53-3; 9051-57-4; 7205-87-1; 68412-54-4; 127087-87--1.
(17) Includes octylphenol and its ethoxylates with CAS numbers: 140-66-9; 1806-26-4; 27193-28-8; 68987-90-6; 9002-93-1; 9036-19-5
(18) “yellow or white”
(19) Does not include phosphorus (yellow or white) with CAS No. 7723-14-0.
(20) This class of substances, expressed in terms of hydrogen sulphide, is restricted to the following substances: hydrogen sulphide (CAS No. 7783-06-4), carbon disulphide (CAS No. 75-15-0), carbonyl sulphide (CAS No. 463-58-1), dimethyl sulphide (CAS No. 75-18-3), dimethyl disulphide (CAS No. 624-92-0), and methyl mercaptan (CAS No. 74-93-1).
(21) “(except when in an alloy) and its compounds”
(22) “all isomers” including the individual isomers of xylene: m-xylene (CAS No. 108-38-3), o-xylene (CAS No. 95-47-6) and p-xylene (CAS No. 106-42-3).
(23) “and its compounds” except tetraethyl lead.
(24) Does not include lead (and its compounds) contained in stainless steel, brass or bronze alloy.
Appendix 3: 2009 NPRI substances and reporting for tailings and waste rock
Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 117-81-7
i -Butyl alcohol 78-83-1
n -Butyl alcohol 71-36-3
sec -Butyl alcohol 78-92-2
tert -Butyl alcohol 75-65-0
p,p’-Methylenebis(2-chloroaniline) 101-14-4
1,1-Methylenebis (4-isocyanatocyclohexane) 5124-30-1
Methylenebis(phenylisocyanate) 101-68-8
p,p’-Methylenedianiline 101-77-9
p-Nitrophenol(2) 100-02-7
p-Phenylenediamine(2) 106-50-3
o-Phenylphenol(2) 90-43-7
Lead(23,24) *
Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin 3268-87-9
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin 35822-46-9
Octachlorodibenzofuran 39001-02-0
1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin 39227-28-6
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin 40321-76-4
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran 51207-31-9
1,2,3,4,7,8,9-Heptachlorodibenzofuran 55673-89-7
2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran 57117-31-4
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran 57117-41-6
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran 57117-44-9
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin 57653-85-7
2,3,4,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran 60851-34-5
1,2,3,4,6,7,8Heptachlorodibenzofuran 67562-39-4
1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzofura 72918-21-9
Appendix 4: Step-by-step guide for reporting tailings and waste rock to the NPRI
This Guide is designed to provide a step-by-step approach to reporting to the NPRI for tailings and waste rock. The more complete guide provides more detailed explanations of the reporting requirements. The NPRI Canada Gazette notices provide the legal basis for reporting.
Read this early and plan your work. Some sampling and measurements may be required for reporting. Planning ahead is essential. Any sampling and measurements required will be specified for all years from 2006 to 2009.
Start with the report for 2009, and then estimate releases for the previous years.
For waste rock
Determine if waste rock was generated in 2009 (and from 2006 to 2008).
If so, does some or all of the waste rock meet the criteria for exclusions?
a. Is all the waste rock considered inert in your permit?
b. Is the concentration of arsenic below 12 mg/kg and
c. Is the sulphur below 0.2% by weight? and if not
d. Is the ratio of neutralizing to acidifying potential greater than 3:1?
*See guide section 3.4 for more details on exclusions.
For waste rock that is not excluded, include the quantity of NPRI substances in the waste rock for the threshold calculation.
For tailings
Determine if tailings were generated in 2009 (and from 2006 to 2008).
Sand in tailings should not be considered in the calculation of thresholds. This applies to oil sand mining and in-situ production, as well as other mining processes that produce sand.
*See section 3.4 Stable/Inert Constituents of tailings
For threshold calculations include the quantity of NPRI substances that are found in tailings.
*See Table 1 for a list of NPRI substances that are relevant to the different mining sectors.
Do your reporting threshold calculation while including the NPRI substances that are found in tailings and waste rock as outlined above.
Report releases, disposals and transfers off site for recycling for those substances that exceed the reporting threshold.