Quirke Lake is body of water located in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Quirke Lake basin, a geological basin the northern part of the Huronian Supergroup. [1] The lake is proximate to five decommissioned uranium mines.
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Quirke Lake is body of water located in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Quirke Lake basin, a geological basin the northern part of the Huronian Supergroup. [1] The lake is proximate to five decommissioned uranium mines.
The lake is located in the Quirke Lake basin (also known as the Quirke Lake trough), a geological basin or trough in the northern part of the Huronian Supergroup. [1] The area around the lake is dominated by ridges and valleys. [2]
Water flows into the lake from the Serpent River after exiting Dunlop Lake before flowing into Whiskey Lake. [2] The lake is within the Serpent River watershed. [3]
The Quirke, Denison, Spanish-American, Can-Met, and Stanrock uranium mines were located in close proximity to the edge of the lake's shore. [1] Historically, mine water was discharged into Quirke Lake from the mines. [4]
Author Vincent Courtenay, who worked in the mines in 1957 spoke about how the mining companies dumped tailings and chemicals into the lake. [5] A late 1990s study entitled Radium-226 in water, sediments, and fish from lakes near the city of Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada found Radium-226 in trout in the lake. [6] Summer 1993 sampling found the pH level of 6.3, marginally outside Ontario's provincial lower limit of pH6.5 set for aquatic life and drinking water. [3] The study also found that, following the earlier extirpation, reintroduced trout were naturally reproducing at a slightly slower rate than nearby Elliot and Dunlop Lakes. [3] The lake was restocked with pickerel in 2019. [7] In 1996, the lake was categorised by the Ontario Government Ministry of Natural Resources as "fair" for trout reproduction. [2]
In 1996, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission reported on consideration that was being given to disposing of uranium mining tailings into the Quirke Lake, but also noted that to do so would be perceived as controversial. [2]
In 2011, a Denison Mines internal report noted that uranium levels still regularly exceeded Ontario's 1994 provincial water quality objective at the inlet to the lake. [8] The same report noted that calculated radiation doses to humans were 0.288 mSv/a (mill-Sieverts per annum) and described the lake as an "area of concern": [8]
"In general, water quality is improving and environmental impacts, such as decreased benthic community taxonomic richness and abundance have reduced in magnitude and spatial extent such that only waterbodies immediately downstream of Quirke, Denison, Panel and Stanleigh are measurably impacted." [8]
Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since diversified to a hub for forest harvesting, mine reclamation expertise, and advanced manufacturing. Elliot Lake is now known as a place for affordable retirement living, waterfront cottage lots and as a four-season destination.
King's Highway 108, commonly referred to as Highway 108, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located in the Algoma District, the highway extends for 41.6 kilometres (25.8 mi) from an intersection with Highway 17 west of Serpent River, through the urban core of Elliot Lake, to an intersection with Quirke Mine Road in the north end of the city. The highway continues as Secondary Highway 639 north of Quirke Mine Road.
Denison Mines Corp. is a Canadian uranium exploration, development, and production company. Founded by Stephen B. Roman, and best known for its uranium mining in Blind River and Elliot Lake, it later diversified into coal, potash, and other projects.
Rio Algom was a mining corporation that was purchased by Billiton in 2000 and is now part of BHP.
Uranium ore deposits are economically recoverable concentrations of uranium within the Earth's crust. Uranium is one of the most common elements in the Earth's crust, being 40 times more common than silver and 500 times more common than gold. It can be found almost everywhere in rock, soil, rivers, and oceans. The challenge for commercial uranium extraction is to find those areas where the concentrations are adequate to form an economically viable deposit. The primary use for uranium obtained from mining is in fuel for nuclear reactors.
The Stanleigh Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 3 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and is currently undergoing environmental monitoring.
The Spanish American Mine is a historical uranium mine located approximately 11 km (7 mi) northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site is 2.3 km (1 mi) southeast of the Denison Mine.
The Milliken Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 2.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services as part of the monitoring of the Stanleigh Mine and tailings facility.
The Panel Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 14.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and is currently undergoing environmental monitoring.
The Stanrock Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 11.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned by Denison Mines. The site has been decommissioned and rehabilitated with ongoing monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
The Quirke Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 13.5 km north of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and is currently undergoing environmental monitoring.
The Pronto Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 20 km south of Elliot Lake, Ontario near Spragge. The site is owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd, has been rehabilitated and is currently undergoing environmental monitoring.
The Buckles Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 4.5 km southeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated. Environmental monitoring is ongoing as part of the monitoring for the nearby Nordic Mine.
The Can-Met Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 12.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned by Denison Mines Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
The Nordic Mine, is an abandoned uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, owned by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
The Lacnor Mine, is an abandoned uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, owned by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
Consolidated Denison Mine, or the Denison Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 12.5 km north of Elliot Lake, Ontario. The site is bordered north by Pronto Mine, Quirke Mine and Nordic Mine; on the east by Panel Mine and Can-Met Mine; and south by Spanish American Mine and Stanrock Mine.
Canada is the world's second largest producer of uranium, behind Kazakhstan. In 2009, 20% of the world's primary uranium production came from mines in Canada. 14.5% of the world production came from one mine, McArthur River. Currently the only producing area in Canada is northern Saskatchewan, although other areas have had active mines in the past.
The Elliot Lake Miners Strike was a wildcat strike by approximately 1,000 uranium miners who worked at Denison uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, Canada. The strike was the first time that Canadian workers had taken industrial action over safety concerns, and it led to Ontario Premier Bill Davis creating a royal commission which led to the creation of new health and safety legislation.
Uranium mining in the Elliot Lake area represents one of two major uranium-producing areas in Ontario, and one of seven in Canada.
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