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Status report on the performance of mines subject to Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations in 2022

A summary of effluent releases of final discharge points for metal and diamond mines located in Canada.

Executive summary

This report presents a summary of the performance of Canadian mines in 2022 with respect to the prescribed limits and requirements of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (Regulations). The annual report provides information on:

Approval for release does not signify that the content reflects the views and policies of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

The owners and operators of mines provided the statistics contained in this report to ECCC. The Regulations require that owners or operators report information to ECCC, including:

ECCC compiled the compliance statistics presented in this report. They are based on the information provided in monitoring report submissions and do not include unreported data.

In 2022, 5 diamond mines and 147 metal mines in Canada were subject to the Regulations. During the year, 3 mines became subject to the Regulations and 4 mines became a recognized closed mine. Eleven mines subject to the Regulations did not provide 1 or more monitoring reports. The total number of exceedances for deleterious substances and pH reported by mines was 167. For acute lethality tests, owners reported 31 failures for fish and 313 failures for invertebrate species.

Schedule 2 of the Regulations lists water bodies designated as tailings impoundment areas. In 2022, 4 waters or places were listed in Schedule 2 of the Regulations.

The report provides an explanation of the 2022 data sets published on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal.

ECCC enforces the Regulations in accordance with the Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Habitat Protection and Pollution Prevention Provisions of the Fisheries Act.

For all purposes of interpreting and applying the law, users should consult the Regulations. Please consult the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, as registered by the Clerk of the Privy Council and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.

More information on the Regulations is available on the Metal and diamond mining effluent webpage.

Acronyms and abbreviations

List of tables

List of figures

1. Introduction

The Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (Regulations) aim to reduce threats to fish, fish habitat, and the use of fish by humans by improving the management of deleterious substances in metal and diamond mining effluent.

Effluent must meet concentration-based limits for arsenic, copper, cyanide, lead, nickel, zinc, suspended solids, radium 226, and un-ionized ammonia. Effluent must have a pH that is between a minimum and maximum level and must not be acutely lethal. The Regulations require effluent testing and reporting, as well as environmental effects monitoring studies.

Owners and operators of mines subject to the Regulations must report information to ECCC, including effluent monitoring results. The statistics in this report are based on data provided to ECCC by the owners or operators of mines. These statistics do not include data that were not reported to ECCC.

The Regulations also include an authorization for the use of water frequented by fish for mine waste disposal if certain conditions are met. Authorization requires an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Regulations. Owners or operators of mines can request an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Regulations. This would designate a water frequented by fish as a tailings impoundment area.

For additional information, visit the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent webpage.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this report is to summarize effluent quality data and compliance of mines subject to the Regulations, as reported to ECCC. This report also summarizes the water bodies that were newly designated as tailings impoundment areas under the Regulations. The report provides an explanation of the 2022 data sets published on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal. This report includes data reported to ECCC within the past 10 years, where appropriate, to support trends-based analysis.

ECCC compiled this summary to inform the regulated community, other stakeholders, and the public on the performance of mines subject to the Regulations. The material is for informational purposes only. For all purposes of interpreting and applying the law, users should consult the Regulations. The Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations are registered by the Clerk of the Privy Council and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.
Approval for release does not signify that the content reflects the views and policies of ECCC.

3. Overview

3.1 Mines subject to the Regulations

A metal or diamond mine becomes subject to the Regulations when it:

In 2022, 147Footnote 1 Footnote 2  metal and 5 diamond mines in Canada were subject to the RegulationsFootnote 3 . Figure 1 shows the number of facilities subject to the Regulations from 2013 to 2022Footnote 4 .

Figure 1. Number of mines subject to the Regulations from 2013 to 2022

Long description

A stacked column graph displaying the number of metal and diamond mines subject to the Regulations between 2013 and 2022. The figure shows that the total number of metal mines generally increases from 121 in 2013 to 152 in 2022. The number of diamond mines remains constant at 5 mines for the years 2018 to 2022.

Figure 2 shows a map illustrating the locations of mines subject to the Regulations.

A list of mines subject to the Regulations is available on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal in the Identification Report document. This document includes the following information:

Please consult the Data Dictionary for additional information related to this document.

Figure 2. Location of mines subject to the Regulations in 2022

Long description

A map of Canada with the locations of mines subject to the Regulations in 2022. The mines are indicated with small blue circles. They are distributed throughout Canada and mostly concentrated in Ontario and Quebec.

3.2 Mines with new regulatory status

Each mine subject to the Regulations is required to report information to ECCC until it becomes a recognized closed mine. Three mines became subject to the Regulations in 2022:

Four mines became recognized closed mines in 2022:

The Mount Milligan Mine located in British Columbia deposits waste rock and tailings into tailings impoundment areas that were listed on Schedule 2 of the Regulations in 2010. The owner of the mine now reports deposits of effluent to ECCC.

3.3 Final discharge points

A final discharge point (FDP), in respect of an effluent, means an identifiable discharge point of a mine beyond which the operator of the mine no longer exercises control over the quality of the effluent. Mines are required to manage all their effluent and only to discharge effluent through FDPs.

A list of FDPs of mines subject to the Regulations is available on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal in the Final Discharge Points document. This document lists all the FDPs associated with each mine and their geographical coordinates.

4. Performance of mines

4.1 Reporting requirements

Owners or operators of mines subject to the Regulations are required to provide quarterly and annual monitoring reports until the mine becomes a recognized closed mine. Quarterly reports are due not later than 45 days after the end of the calendar quarter. Annual reports are due by March 31 of the following year.

Of the 152Footnote 1 Footnote 2  mines that are subject to the Regulations, 11 mines provided no quarterly or annual effluent monitoring reports in 2022:

4.2 Prescribed deleterious substances and pH

The Regulations include provisions to allow the discharge of metal and diamond mine effluent into water frequented by fish, subject to certain requirements. The Regulations authorize the deposit of effluent that contains a deleterious substance if:

Owners and operators of mines are required to conduct regular monitoring of effluent and report information to ECCC. Reported information includes, for each FDP:

ECCC publishes effluent quality results, as reported by operators of mines, on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal. The frequency of testing varies depending on the individual mine and its performance. Under the Regulations, operators test the effluent at each FDP weekly for deleterious substances and monthly for acute lethality. The operator of a mine is required to record the results of all tests. The frequency of testing can be reduced to once per quarter in the following instances:

For deleterious substances, ECCC compares the individual test results for each substance with the maximum authorized concentration in a grab or composite sample set out in the Regulations. All test results in a month for each substance are used to calculate monthly mean concentrations for each FDP. ECCC evaluates the performance by comparing the monthly mean concentrations to the maximum authorized monthly mean concentration limits set out in the Regulations. Those monthly mean concentrations reported to ECCC that are above the prescribed limits represent reported exceedances.

For pH, ECCC compared the individual test results for each grab sample with the prescribed range. ECCC evaluates performance by determining how many grab samples are within the prescribed range.

Figure 3 shows the total number of exceedances for deleterious substances and pH against the number of mines subject to the Regulations from 2013 to 2022.

Figure 3. Total number of exceedances for deleterious substances and pH, against number of mines from 2013 to 2022

Long description

A clustered column - line chart displaying the total number of exceedances and the number of mines subject to the Regulations between 2013 and 2022. The column chart displays the total number of exceedances for deleterious substances and pH on the primary Y-axis. The line chart displays the number of mines subject to the Regulations on the secondary Y-axis. The figure shows that the total number of exceedances fluctuates slightly, but with a general increase from 2013 to 2022, and a marked decrease from 188 in 2021 to 167 in 2022. The total number of mines generally increases from 121 in 2013 to 152 in 2022.

Table 1 shows the number of exceedances for each of the deleterious substances and pH from 2013 to 2022. In 2022, there was a decrease in exceedances for several parameters compared to 2021.

Table 1. Number of exceedances for deleterious substances and pH from 2013 to 2022
Substance/ Parameter 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Arsenic 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
Copper 4 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 0
Cyanide 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Lead 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1
Nickel 3 9 2 1 1 7 28 19 22 15
Zinc 3 6 0 1 2 9 25 15 17 11
SS 30 35 29 30 30 35 59 32 29 38
Radium-226 7 4 5 6 2 0 3 4 2 0
Un-ionized ammonia NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 11 0
pH Low 3 10 10 10 3 12 115 69 100 96
pH High 1 3 1 2 0 4 8 1 1 2
Total 57 73 49 52 38 68 240 142 188 167

Note: NA = Not applicable

Table A1 in Appendix A lists the following for 2022:

4.3 Fish and invertebrate toxicity

The Regulations require that effluent be non-acutely lethal. Acute lethality refers to tests of effluent on mortality rate to fish (rainbow trout or threespine stickleback) and invertebrates (Daphnia magna or Acartia tonsa). The biological test methods publications web page provides more information on the methods prescribed by the Regulations to determine acute lethality.

Section 21 of the Regulations indicates that all test results are to be reported to ECCC. Tables 2a and 2b summarize the acute lethality tests results. Metal and diamond mines subject to the Regulations conducted a total of 1,444 fish acute lethality tests. Of those tests, 12 mines reported 31 acute lethality tests that resulted in greater than 50% fish mortality. Mines also conducted a total of 2,051 invertebrate acute lethality tests. Of those tests, 22 mines reported 313 tests with greater than 50% mortality.

In 2022, the total number of invertebrate tests increased compared to 2021. This increase is due to a single mine located in Quebec which is responsible for the majority of reported invertebrate acute lethality tests and reported failures in 2022.

ECCC publishes the acute lethality test results as reported by operators of mines on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal. ECCC publishes the data in four separate files:

Table 2a. Performance summary: fish acute lethality tests in 2022, by region
Region* Total # of Tests # of Tests with >50% Mortality # of Mines that Reported a Failure
Atlantic 195 5 4
Ontario 322 0 0
Pacific-Yukon 181 1 1
Prairie-Northern 190 0 0
Quebec 556 25 7
Total 1444 31 12
Table 2b. Performance summary: invertebrate acute lethality tests in 2022, by region
Region* Total # of Tests # of Tests with >50% Mortality # of Mines that Reported a Failure
Atlantic 203 7
 2
Ontario 352
 1
 1
Pacific-Yukon 187
 2
 2
Prairie-Northern 218
 2
 2
Quebec 1091
 301
 15
Total 2051
 313
 22

* Regions are classified as follows: Atlantic region includes the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Pacific-Yukon region includes the province of British Columbia, and Yukon Territory. Prairie-Northern region includes the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and the territory of Nunavut.

Table A2 in Appendix A lists the following for 2022:

5. Water bodies designated as tailings impoundment areas

The Regulations authorize the deposit of mine waste (such as waste rock, tailings, and effluent) into a tailings impoundment area (TIA) that is either:

Tailings impoundment areas are listed in Schedule 2 via a regulatory amendment of the Regulations. Various requirements must be met before the Minister of the Environment can recommend the amendment to the Governor in Council.

The proponent must demonstrate that the proposed option to use water bodies frequented by fish to dispose of mine waste is the best option from an environmental, technical, economic and socio-economic perspective. The proponent must also develop and implement a compensation plan to offset the loss of fish habitat. Additional information is available on the Tailings impoundment areas web page.

In 2022, Schedule 2 of the Regulations was amended to list 4 new waters or places as TIAs. At the end of 2022, Schedule 2 contained 68 listings that are associated with 28 mines. A complete list of waters or places that have been designated as TIAs is available on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal.

Water or place listed on Schedule 2 of the Regulations in 2022

6. Compliance and enforcement

ECCC’s Enforcement Branch enforces the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act and accompanying regulations to protect and prevent harm to fish, fish habitat or human use of fish. ECCC enforces the Regulations in accordance with the provisions of the Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Habitat Protection and Pollution Prevention Provisions of the Fisheries Act. The policy sets out a range of possible responses to offences that can be used by enforcement officers. These include warnings, directions, ministerial orders, injunctions, prosecution and civil suits by the Crown for the recovery of costs. When there is evidence of an alleged violation, an enforcement officer considers the nature of the alleged offence, effectiveness in achieving the desired result with the alleged offender, and consistency in enforcement in order to determine the appropriate response.

Appendix A: Performance summary of mine effluent not meeting effluent quality standards

This appendix summarizes the number of exceedances reported by operators of mines subject to the Regulations in 2022. Table A1 summarizes the distribution of the non-compliant parameters for prescribed deleterious substances and pH. Table A2 summarizes the results of acute lethality tests.

Prescribed deleterious substances exceedances represent the number of monthly mean concentrations that exceeded the prescribed limits for a given month. pH exceedances represent the number of months that the pH range was exceeded. The parameters included are arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cyanide (CN), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), suspended solids (SS), radium 226 (Ra-226), un-ionized ammonia (NH3), and pH.

Table A1. Exceedance summary for facilities subject to the Regulations in 2022: prescribed parameters and pH
Mine Name Final Discharge Point Name As Cu CC Pb Ni Zn SS Ra-226 NH3 pH < 6 pH > 9.5
Bellekeno Mine KV-43 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Caribou Mine Polishing Pond Discharge 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Carol Project MP-06 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Cobalt Camp Refinery Ltd. Slate Creek 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Complexe minier Kiena eff-kiena-03 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Copper Mountain Mine SW07 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Detour Lake Project MRS2-A-FDP 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Division Beaufor EF-BR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Eagle River Mine Site EA-WR 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Ekati Diamond Mine Seep-019 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Ekati Diamond Mine Seep-357 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ekati Diamond Mine Seep-391 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Greenstone Mine Temporary Effluent Treatment Plant 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
HBMS Flin Flon Metallurgical Complex North Weir 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Huckleberry Mines Ltd. SC-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
La Mine Niobec Effluent Pluvial 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Magino Mine LL-O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Mary River Mine Site MS-06 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Mary River Mine Site MS-11 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Mine de Fire Lake Effluent final FL-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Mine de Fire Lake Effluent Final FL-BC (Fossé B et Fossé C) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 27 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent final MS-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent HS-2 TEMP 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright SA-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Mount Polley Mine HAD-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Red Chris Mine NRDD 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE 166 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Aiguillage Sud 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Ancienne Croix 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Rh Léo 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 1 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy 2.5 Effluent des Poudres 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy EFF2.2-P84 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy Effluent final QIT (point 1.4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy Émissaire C 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 1 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy Émissaire E 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Voisey's Bay Mine Site Port Site Sedimentation Pond 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Wabush Mines - Scully Knoll Lake Inflow 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Whale Tail Project ST-MDMER-11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Total - 4 0 0 1 15 11 38 0 0 96 2
Table A2. Exceedance summary for facilities subject to the Regulations in 2022: acute lethality tests
Mine Name Final Discharge Point Name Rainbow Trout Total Rainbow Trout Fail Threespine Stickleback Total Threespine Stickleback Fail Daphnia magna Total Daphnia magna Fail Acartia tonsa Total Acartia tonsa Fail
Ekati Diamond Mine Two Rock Sedimentation Pond 4 0 0 0 4 1 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-3 10 1 0 0 16 8 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-5 10 2 0 0 14 11 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-6 12 1 0 0 13 1 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent ES-DLR-7 9 2 0 0 11 9 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent final MS-7 7 1 0 0 7 1 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright Effluent HS-2 TEMP 13 0 0 0 19 7 0 0
Mine de Mont-Wright SA-6 6 0 0 0 7 4 0 0
Mine Raglan DIR-UT 6 0 0 0 7 2 0 0
Mine Raglan DIR-Z3 6 0 0 0 7 1 0 0
Usine Vaudreuil Émissaire C 4 0 0 0 9 1 0 0
Casa Berardi Effluent final- Point A 6 1 0 0 6 1 0 0
La Mine Niobec Effluent final 23 0 0 0 523 228 0 0
True North Gold Mine End Of Pipe 11 0 0 0 11 1 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Aiguillage Sud 18 0 0 0 21 3 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Ancienne Croix 21 1 0 0 26 7 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc. - HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE Rh Léo 44 0 0 0 44 1 0 0
Voisey's Bay Mine Site Treated Effluent Final Discharge Point 9 1 0 0 20 6 0 0
La mine Doyon Effluent final du bassin A (D-203) 4 0 0 0 7 1 0 0
Mine Matagami Effluent final (WLD) 12 0 0 0 14 3 0 0
Division Beaufor EF-BR 14 6 0 0 14 1 0 0
Usine Camflo inc EF-VN 12 2 0 0 14 1 0 0
Carol Project Hakim Culvert 18 2 0 0 18 0 0 0
SMC (Canada) Ltd. Polishing Pond 3 0 0 0 6 1 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy EFF2.2-P84 17 5 0 0 15 0 0 0
Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.- Complexe  de Sorel-Tracy Émissaire C 10 2 0 0 10 5 0 0
Wolverine Mine Portal Water Treatment 9 0 0 0 9 1 0 0
Anaconda Mining Inc. Argyle Final Discharge Point 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Projet Nunavik Nickel Effluent final Mésamax 7 0 0 0 7 2 0 0
DSO Timmins Project Outlet of Sedimentation Pond 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Caribou Mine Polishing Pond Discharge 13 1 0 0 12 0 0 0
Mine Renard MIR2 12 0 0 0 15 1 0 0
Osisko Mining inc Project Windfall EFF-1 18 0 0 0 18 1 0 0
QR Mine E2 - North Seepage Collection Pond 12 0 0 0 14 1 0 0
Elk Gold Mine Sump B 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 0
Total - 386 31 0 0 942 313 0 0

Appendix B: Regulatory data available on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal

ECCC publishes data submitted by operators of mines subject to the Regulations on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal. ECCC has developed a Data Dictionary that includes a list and description of the data fields included in the dataset. Please consult the Data Dictionary for additional information on the data published.

Listed below are the data files published on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal in the order they are included in the Annual Report by ECCC. Descriptions of the data contained in each file are listed as sub-bullet points.

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