Vale Canada and Terrapure win Environmental Leader Award for innovative mine rehabilitation project
May 15 2019 - 9:30AM
Terrapure Environmental® (Terrapure) and Vale Canada received an
Environmental Leader Award for Project of the Year for their new,
sustainable option for managing biosolids during winter months,
when farmland application is prohibited and storage is complicated.
Instead of incinerating or landfilling nutrient-rich organics,
Terrapure worked with Vale to develop a program to apply treated
biosolids to its Central Tailings Area for reclamation and
revegetation. It was the first project of its kind in Ontario.
The Environmental Leader Awards recognize excellence in projects
that add significant value to energy, environmental and
sustainability management efforts. Winners are awarded based on
scores from a panel of distinguished judges with extensive
experience in environmental management.
“The program is new for the province, so we’re excited to see
other mines follow Vale’s lead in identifying biosolids as an
innovative, cost-effective reclamation option,” said Jeff Newman,
Director of Business Development at Terrapure Organics Solutions.
“This approach is a real win-win. It provides an off-season
biosolids management alternative and Vale gets a highly effective
tailings revegetation solution.”
Terrapure and Vale Canada partnered at the Copper Cliff tailings
area in the Greater Sudbury Area. Vale had been successful in using
conventional methods to remediate inactive tailings sites, but all
had been costly with varying levels of success. By using biosolids,
Vale was able to greatly offset conventional reclamation costs,
which can include extensive soil or tailings amendments, and still
achieve the results they were looking for.
“Biosolids are a new and innovative approach to tailings
reclamation for the mining industry,” said Glen Watson,
Superintendent of Reclamation and Decommissioning of Vale’s Ontario
Operations. “We’ve had excellent plant growth yield under very
challenging conditions where they have been applied in Vale’s
Central Tailings Area. The success of this program is something we
can all be proud of and learn from in the future.”
To date, the project has diverted over 100,000 tonnes of
biosolids from disposal, and 175 hectares of mine-impacted lands
are now able to provide a natural habitat.
While the overall caliber of entries was exceptionally high this
year, judges agreed that Vale and Terrapure’s beneficial re-use
project demonstrated impressive results. One judge noted: “I am
always happy to see positive environmental projects that
are also viable from an economic standpoint in helping solve
problems.”
This is the third consecutive year Terrapure has been honoured
with an Environmental Leader Award. Previously, the company was
recognized for its innovative centrifuge technology and oil
recycling program.
The award was publicly announced on May 14, 2019, at
the Environmental Leader & Energy Manager
Conference in Denver, CO.
For more information about biosolids programs, visit Terrapure
Organics Solutions at
www.terrapureenv.com/service/organics-solutions/. For more
information on the Environmental Leader Awards, visit
ww.environmentalleader.com/product-project-awards-2019/
About Vale
Vale is one of the world’s largest mining companies, present
across five continents. Vale is also the world’s largest producer
of nickel, with our Base Metals business headquartered in Toronto.
Our Canadian operations produce copper, cobalt, platinum group
metals, gold and silver. Vale’s operations in Sudbury are home to
one of the largest integrated mining complexes in the world with
five mines, a mill, a smelter and a nickel refinery. For more
information, please visit: www.vale.com/canada.
About Terrapure Environmental
Terrapure is a leading, vertically integrated provider of
essential environmental and industrial services in Canada for
industrial, commercial and institutional end markets, including the
manufacturing, mining, construction, refining and petrochemical,
waste management and remediation, institutional, transportation,
pulp and paper, utilities and oil and gas sectors. Headquartered in
Burlington, Ontario, we employ over 2,100 people and operate an
integrated network of over 70 locations, coast to coast.
At Terrapure, we’re changing waste for good. We see both
economy and environment as invaluable, understanding one
cannot be prioritized at the expense of the other. We focus on
reducing disposal, recovering value and restoring industrial
operations to peak efficiency. We bring safe, compliant and
reliable solutions to environmental challenges in virtually every
industry sector – all without compromising the bottom line.
For more information, visit www.terrapureenv.com.
- Glen Watson and Jeff Newman
Danica Pagnutti
Vale Canada Limited
705-682-7165
danica.pagnutti@vale.com
Greg Jones
Terrapure Environmental
905.315.2229
gjones@terrapureenv.com
Jen Reeves
Jan Kelley
905.631.3943
jreeves@jankelley.com
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