Sherritt-Gordon Mine
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Sherritt-Gordon Mine is a defunct zinc and copper mine in
Sherridon Sherridon, Manitoba is an unincorporated community in Manitoba, Canada. History Sherridon originated as the service centre for the nearby Sherritt Gordon nickel mines. The mine closed in 1952, resulting in the equipment and many of the workers ...
,
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, Canada. Pollution from the mine contaminated Kississing Lake in what has been described as "one of the worst cases of acidic mine drainage in the world." Workers staged a month's long strike at the mine in 1947.


Description

Sherritt-Gordon Mine is a defunct zinc and copper mine in Sherridon, Manitoba. It is located about 800 kilometres north west of the provincial capital city of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
. The mine is near
Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within M ...
. The mine is located on the shore of Kississing Lake.


History

Geological exploration of the area began in 1899, followed by prospectors from the Flin Flon area who were guided by local Métis. In 1923, deposits of copper-zinc sulphides were staked on the east shore of Kississing Lake, which were developed into the Sherritt-Gordon Mine. The mine operated from 1931 to 1951 producing zinc and copper with low amounts of gold and silver. On August 13, 1947, workers at the mine went on strike after pay negotiations with
Sherritt International Sherritt International is a Canadian resource company, based in Toronto, Ontario. Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt – metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technologies Grou ...
failed to make progress. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation political party objected to the influx of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
during the stroke By November the strike was ongoing, with striking workers blocking non-striking workers on November 5. Courts passed an injunction in the second week of November against the strike. The mine and produced 7.7 mega tons of ore which were dumped over an area covering 47 hectares including next to Camp Lake. Water from the contaminated Camp Lake has since leached into Kississing Lake. Weathering of the mine's
tailings In mining, tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different to overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overli ...
has released sulphate, metals and acid into surface and ground water for over 50 years since the mine has closed. In 2009, The ''
Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...
'' described the pollution around the mine as "one of the worst cases of acidic mine drainage in the world". The
Government of Manitoba The powers and structure of the provincial Government of Manitoba (french: Gouvernement du Manitoba) are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" referred broadly to the cabinet of the day (formally ...
started remediation of the pollution from the mine in 2009. In 2017, unhappy with the progress of the remediation, members of the local community briefly blockaded the local highway, preventing access.


See also

*
List of mines in Manitoba This is a list of mines in Manitoba, Canada. Operational mines are bolded. Hudson Bay Mine Copper, Zinc, Gold Flin Flon, Manitoba {{Canada topic, List of mines in Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is r ...


References

{{Portal bar, Canada, History, Business, Geology, Environment Former mines in Canada 1931 establishments in Canada 1951 disestablishments in Canada Zinc mines in Canada Copper mines in Canada