Pembroke possible site for mine tailings facility

Pembroke land owned or under option by the mining company Wolfden Resources Corporation is listed in a rezoning petition as a possible site for a tailings management facility (TMF). The company is conducting exploratory drilling for metallic mining at the former Big Hill mine area in Pembroke; however, the TMF could be for a polymetallic mining operation the company is proposing for Pickett Mountain in Penobscot County. At a Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) hearing with Wolfden Mountain Chase LLC held on October 13, the commission encouraged the company to withdraw its petition and create a new one, given the LUPC staff's concerns about the number of errors or omissions in the petition paperwork. If the company did not withdraw its petition, the commission suggested that the petition would be denied. Wolfden President and CEO Ron Little then withdrew the rezoning petition, noting that a new petition would be created.
The Pickett Mountain site is located in an unorganized territory (UT), which requires a different permitting process from an organized territory, commonly structured as a municipality. While both require the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permitting process, a UT permitting process involves the LUPC, whereas a municipality would be governed by local ordinance. LUPC acting Executive Director Stacie Beyer says that the commission expects that Wolfden has hired a Maine based consultant to help navigate the process and will be making contact with LUPC to start discussing a new petition. She adds that the commission encouraged Wolfden to explore "all the options" of a different TMF site from Pickett Mountain to process and dispose of tailings.
Little says, "We are still considering our options on the Pickett project in order to improve our chances of gaining an LUPC rezoning approval."

Four TMF sites proposed
A tailings management facility, the Wolfden application states, is where "tailings are produced through the flotation process and are pumped in a slurry to be dewatered via a pressure filter and then deposited on a dry stack TMF. The filtered tailings will be transported by truck to the TMF where they are spread, stacked and compacted by a dozer." A total of 1,000 tonnes of tailings are expected to be generated per day. "Sub aerial (dry stacked) tailings are the only above-ground tailings management method allowed under the DEP Chapter 200 rules." The TMF would be designed according to DEP requirements, including a composite liner and leachate collections, the petition states. "Leachate ponds that collect water that encounters tailings are also governed by these standards. TMF ground slopes of 20% to 30% may be used for dry stack tailings."
The Pickett Mountain project petition application that was withdrawn suggests that Wolfden is considering four sites for a TMF. The first site would be within a portion of the 7,145 acre Pickett Mountain parcel, and the second site would be at the former Great Northern Paper mill in Millinocket, currently operated by the Our Katahdin development group. The third alternative would be to transport all of the ore material across the border into New Brunswick. While the TMF location is not named, the Wolfden website lists its Tetagouche property as approximately 16,000 hectares in the heart of the Bathurst Mining Camp in northeastern New Brunswick.
The fourth alternative is in Pembroke and is referenced in the petition application, including documentation by Sargent Corporation that states that in order to haul the proposed 1,200 metric tons of tailings a day to Pembroke would require 48 tractor trailer loads every day, or an average of two truckloads every hour. The statement adds that the availability of trucks during summer and fall months could greatly impact the cost of hauling to Pembroke.

Concerns about metallic mining
When it comes to the jurisdiction of LUPC, DEP and local ordinances if a mining activity involves both an organized and unorganized territory, the LUPC's Beyer explains that if a proposal includes any process out of LUPC jurisdiction "then LUPC would have no say over that part of the petition."
Pembroke, as an organized town, would fall under DEP permitting but does not currently have a local mining ordinance.
Wolfden's Pickett Mountain mine proposal could include TMF sites in one or more towns, and DEP Mining Coordinator Michael Clark explains that a TMF is considered a mining activity in its own right. His preliminary understanding is that it's possible that a TMF may be allowed to be permitted as a stand alone mining permit by the DEP. He adds, "A TMF facility would require an application for a mining permit, and the only aspect of LUPC overlap would be that the LUPC must certify to the DEP that the proposed mine is an allowable use and that it meets any land use standard established by the LUPC that is not considered in the DEP's review."
If the Pickett Mountain project were to successfully receive rezoning permission from the LUPC, Wolfden states that the company "will need to obtain a Maine Metallic Mining Permit from the DEP under the Maine Chapter 200 rules. The Chapter 200 rules with respect to metallic mines only allow for underground mining methods and require tailings disposal as dry-stacked tailings, in lined facilities, to be closed with a final cover of equal hydraulic performance. It is technically and financially feasible for the project to meet these two requirements."
Jason Barrett, with Friends of Cobscook Bay, expresses the group's concern about any kind of mining activity at the Pembroke site, including a TMF. "The argument is that the DEP will enforce laws and no pollution will happen. But historically mines have caused pollution, including TMFs," and that pollution, even with remediation, doesn't completely go away. The Big Hill site is "very close to an aquifer" that supplies many wells, as well as wetlands and water sources that feed into the bay. He points to the TMF pollution at the Myra Falls mine in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, which was fined and shut down for a time in 2015 because of a leak, and then fined again in 2020 for spilling 500 litres of toxic substances into a river. He points to other examples of mining pollution. "We're very concerned," he says, about the future use of the Big Hill site.
In a March 2020 report, Alaska Metal Mines: The Track Record to Impacts to Land and Water from the Failure to Capture and Treat Mine Pollution, issued by the nonprofit Earthworks organization, five of the largest mines in Alaska were examined for failures leading to pollution. The report states that all five mines have had at least one major spill or accidental release of hazardous materials; four out of five mines failed to capture or control contaminated mine water, resulting in water quality violations that often occurred over an extended period; four of five mines have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as out of compliance with federal laws to protect clean air or water in the last three years; and four of five mines had the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process underestimate water quality impacts. The report states, "Violations of federal and state laws were not predicted in the impact statements developed during the permitting of these operations. Thus, the water quality and air quality impacts documented in this report by state or federal enforcement actions were underestimated in the EIS process."

Wolfden mining update
Wolfden's Ron Little says that the company is still waiting on drill results for the Pembroke site. "The laboratories have become slow worldwide and are typically taking two to three months. We should have a better idea of our plans for 2022 by the end of March." If the Pembroke site does show promising results for mining, the question arises as to whether it would have room for both its own mining and tailings as well as the TMF for a Pickett Mountain operation. The company has not disclosed how much acreage it owns or has optioned in Pembroke.
Little says, "We need to remind everyone that we are at a very early stage in the exploration process. We know there is mineralization based on the historical results, but we are a long way from defining an underground economic deposit, and without a deposit, there will be no mine or tailings." He adds that because the company is still in research and development and "trying to figure out the geology of the area, we aren't comfortable disclosing much detail around our land holdings."
Little notes that the company plans to hold a public meeting in the town. "We do plan to hold an information session with the town as we continue with our exploration efforts and as information becomes available that will assist in our future work plans. At the moment, our field work is complete and no further work is planned."