Energy, Mines and Resources
| About YGS | YGS News | Site Map | Links |
MPERG
The Mining and Petroleum Environmental Research Group (MPERG) is a cooperative working group made up of government agencies, mining companies, Yukon First Nations and non-government organizations for the promotion of research into mining and environmental issues in the Yukon. It has been expanded to support environmental studies related to petroleum development.
Participants bring their resources and knowledge to work cooperatively on mining environmental issues and projects.
For example, a mining company may have research commitments for the environmental assessment and water licensing stages of mine development. Members of MPERG would identify those projects planned by the company which could have general application across the Yukon by the addition of extra funding or by broadening the scope of the work.
An added feature of research commissioned by MPERG is that in addition to the final technical report, the final project results must be provided in non-technical language. The results of the research undertaken by MPERG would therefore be disseminated to a broad audience, including the general public, First Nations and communities.
Governments (federal, territorial and First Nations) will benefit by gaining a better understanding of environmental impacts and methods of reducing potential liabilities.
Resource companies benefit by applying new technology designed to reduce environmental compliance costs.
The public and affected communities benefit by an increased understanding of mining/environment issues.
Mining projects in the Yukon are subject to environmental assessment under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Act. Scientific uncertainty is a factor during assessment of mining and petroleum projects due to new technology, different combinations of technology and northern environmental conditions, or simply different impacts from toxic-element releases to the environment. This creates uncertainty and delays in project development and may translate into higher development costs and increased potential liabilities to government.
It would be beneficial to create a favorable environment to facilitate finding solutions before environmental problems in the Yukon arise. This approach was used for the Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) program. The MEND program was a cooperative effort between Canadian mining companies and provincial and federal departments. It was designed to develop and apply new technologies to prevent and control acid mine drainage. It is estimated that the liability due to acidic drainage has decreased by at least $400 million due to a research investment of $17.5 million over the eight year life of the program. The MEND program was completed in December, 1997; however, in light of its success, a post-MEND initiative funded by NRCan and the Mining Association of Canada emphasizing technology transfer has commenced.
Program areas for the group to focus on include:
- identify and prioritize issues in the area of environmental impact predictions for the opening, operating and closure of mines
- review and compile the state of knowledge in existing technical issues related to mining and environmental liability
- carry out or manage specific projects on a priority basis to determine the northern environment's influence/impact on mining structures and components
- environmental acceptability evaluation of new technologies in northern environments
- communication planning for scientific and technical information dissemination and simplification for public access and comprehension
The initial focus of MPERG is on technical projects. It should be noted that the terms of reference for MPERG could be broadened later, after some projects are successfully completed, to include socio-economic issues or other non-technical issues dealing with mining and the environment.
Projects may be brought forward by any member of the Advisory Group. Projects will be screened by the MPERG Steering Committee on an individual basis, although all projects must meet the following criteria:
- must not immediately duplicate research conducted elsewhere
- should provide a general benefit to the Yukon mining and petroleum industries and the Yukon environment (results from the research are applicable to other mining projects)
- project products to include a summary of project results in non-technical language
- Yukon goods, services and expertise to be used as much as possible, as long as it is practical and prudent to do so
Program areas for the group to focus on include:
- identify and prioritize issues in the area of environmental impact predictions for the opening, operating and closure of mines
- review and compile the state of knowledge in existing technical issues related to mining and environmental liability
- carry out or manage specific projects on a priority basis to determine the northern environment's influence/impact on mining structures and components
- environmental acceptability evaluation of new technologies in northern environments
- communication planning for scientific and technical information dissemination and simplification for public access and comprehension
The initial focus of MPERG is on technical projects. It should be noted that the terms of reference for MPERG could be broadened later, after some projects are successfully completed, to include socio-economic issues or other non-technical issues dealing with mining and the environment.
The following are some ideas for MPERG projects:
- compilation of Yukon-specific environmental assessment technical data, including database extraction from the MEND projects, AQUAMIN/AETE programs, and others
- compilation of options available at the exploration stage in order to avoid the common pitfalls that have delayed projects during the environmental assessment and permitting stages
- guidelines for exploration companies to prepare for future environmental assessment requirements during the exploration phase of development
- compilation of what has been learned from environmental assessment of past mining projects
- current worldwide mining practices for mining in permafrost regions
- passive wetlands treatment of mine drainage to remove heavy metals
- flow characteristics in waste-rock piles and how this affects acid mine drainage
- problems and acceptable solutions to placing waste rock dumps in zones of discontinuous permafrost
- treatment and removal of selenium from massive sulphide tailings
- treatment and removal of arsenic from gold tailings
- kinetics of cyanide destruction under cold weather conditions
- problems in collecting and interpreting representative meteorological and hydrological data for remote sites
- detoxification, reclamation and closure of heap leach mines
- behavior of mine drainage in cold weather conditions
NOTICE: Administration of the Minerals and Petroleum Environmental Research Group (MPERG) program is being transferred from Yukon Geological Survey to Yukon College (Norther Research Institute). Project proponents can submit research proposals to NRI. Funding priorities and evaluation criteria will remain the same as in previous years; further information is provided below.
The following information is required in a project proposal:
- name of project
- proponent/partners
- funding required
- contact information (name, phone, fax, email)
- project background
- project objective
- methodology
- project deliverables
- budget
- time-frame
- general benefit to the Yukon
Generally, a one or two page submission is recommended as the initial proposal. It is suggested that proponents develop proposals in partnership with one or more mining companies, affected First Nations or non-government organizations. From time to time MPERG may invite bids on specific projects.
The MPERG Steering Committee meets as required to discuss mining environmental issues, review proposals and track MPERG projects. The projects are carried out by Project Teams or Working Groups.
The Project Team guides the project from planning to completion. Members of the project team may include a project leader (industry or government), other industry or government representatives who want to participate in the study, and a First Nation representative (traditional territory where project is located). Non-government organizations may also be able to contribute on a Project Team.
If a particular project is one which includes traditional ecological knowledge as a component, the First Nation representative may help coordinate or guide the Project Team in consultations with the local community.
MPERG funding to date has been provided by Yukon Government, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and the federal government through Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Environment Canada has also contributed financially. Contributions in kind through staff time, site access, labor and technical expertise provided by the general MPERG membership on a project-by-project basis.
