2009 NPRI Reviewed Facility Data Release

5. Overview of Tailings and Waste Rock Data Reported to the NPRI for 2009

This section provides an overview of data on tailings and waste rock reported to the NPRI for 2009. For detailed reports for individual facilities, see the NPRI Online Data Search or the downloadable datasets page.

There are a number of important factors to keep in mind when using and interpreting information on tailings and waste rock and other NPRI data. Please review the Considerations when using NPRI data page. 

In 2009, Environment Canada established new reporting requirements retroactive to 2006 for the reporting of substances disposed of in tailings and waste rock to the NPRI. These new requirements resulted from a judicial review of the NPRI program. They require that mining and other facilities must also report the quantities and concentrations of substances disposed of in tailings and waste rock management areas.

1. Reporting coverage and compliance for tailings and waste rock:

As of September 23, 2010^[1], 94 mines and other facilities reported on tailings and waste rock for 2009. A breakdown by facility type is provided in Table 5.1 below. After publishing preliminary data in August 2010, Environment Canada followed up with a number of facilities that did not report as expected. As a result of these compliance promotion efforts, there is now a high level of compliance with the tailings and waste rock requirements.

The Department also confirmed that a number of potash, coal and other mines were not required to report, for reasons such as the inert nature of their waste rock and/or because their operations did not produce tailings. It has also confirmed a number of cases where two or more facilities in Natural Resources Canada’s list of mining operations reported to the NPRI as a single facility according to the NPRI’s contiguous facility definition.

Environment Canada is following up with a few remaining facilities that may have met tailings and waste rock reporting criteria but did not report.  

Table 5.1 – Facilities Reporting to the NPRI on Tailings and Waste Rock  for 2009 

Type of Mine/Mining Facility	Number of Facilities
Metal ore (except iron ore)	59
Coal	9
Oil sands	5
Potash	4
Iron ore	4
Diamond	3
Asbestos (chrysotile form)	2
Phosphate	1
Nepheline syenite*	1
Non-mining facilities reporting on tailings and waste rock, such as metal smelters and foundries	6
Total	94
* An igneous rock used in making glass, ceramics, roofing material, paints and glazes.

 

2. Contribution of NPRI substances in tailings and waste rock compared to other reported releases, disposals and transfers for 2009:

Figure 5.1 below shows the breakdown of reported tailings and waste rock for 2009 compared to total reported releases, disposals and transfers for recycling. Substances in tailings and waste rock accounted for 8.5% of total releases and transfers reported to the NPRI for 2009: 8.3% for tailings and 0.2% for waste rock.

It is important to note that a pollutant’s potential to cause harm to human health and the environment depends on a variety of factors, including whether it is released to air, water or land; its toxicity; if and to what extent it is broken down in the environment; and the resulting amount, nature and level of exposure. For example, direct releases of mercury pose a greater risk than mercury contained naturally in low concentrations in rock removed during mine operations and disposed of in a permitted area for long-term storage and management. For more information, please review the Considerations when using NPRI data page. 

Although the relative contribution of mining facilities to the overall total increased because of the new tailings and waste rock requirements, it has not increased to the same degree as in the United States, where mines account for over 30% of total reported releases and transfers. The main reason for this difference is that Canada requires reporting for several substances and sectors that are exempt from reporting in the United States. These include CACs (the key air pollutants contributing to smog and acid rain), the oil and gas extraction sector, and the wastewater sector.

Figure 5.1: Reported Tailings and Waste Rock Compared to Other NPRI Data for 2009

3. Trends over time:

There are a number of factors to consider when conducting trend analysis using NPRI data, including specific considerations for the new tailings and waste rock data. For more information, see the Considerations when using NPRI data page. 

As shown in Figure 5.2, overall releases to air, water and land reported to the NPRI have decreased since 2003, and transfers for recycling have remained relatively constant. However, disposals other than tailings and waste rock (such as to landfills and underground injection) have increased, mainly due to reported increases in disposals of hydrogen sulphide. For reported disposals of tailings and waste rock, there was little change between 2006 and 2009.

Figure 5.2 – Substances in Tailings and Waste Rock Reported to the NPRI Compared to Other Reported Data, 2003–2009

Note: 2006 is the first year for which data on tailings and rock data were collected. 

 

4. Breakdown of tailings and waste rock data by sub-sector:

Based on reviewed data for 2009, metal ore mines and mills (excluding iron ore) accounted for 51.7% of the reported substances in tailings and waste rock by mass. Of those substances, metals such as manganese, zinc, copper and nickel accounted for 71%, followed by phosphorus and other nutrients at 16%, and heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury at 13% (see Table 5.2 below).

For iron ore mines, heavy metals accounted for less than 1% of the total substances in tailings and waste rock reported by this sub-sector, while other metals and nutrients accounted for over 99%.

By mass, the substances in tailings reported by oil sands mines were 2% heavy metals, 60% other metals, 27% nutrients and less than 1% PAHs. However, the PAHs from oil sands mines accounted for over 90% of the PAHs in tailings reported by all facilities.

Coal mines, other non-metallic mines and non-mining facilities such as metal smelters and fertilizer plants reported various metals, nutrients and other substances.

Table 5.2 - Reported Tailings and Waste Rock Disposals by Sub-sector and Substance Group for 2009

Sub-Sector	Quantity Reported in Tailings and Waste Rock (Tonnes)
	Heavy Metals	Other Metals	Nutrients	PAHs	Other Substances	Total
Metal ore mining (except iron ore)	35 080	191 850	44 524	0	45	271 499
Iron ore mining	73	114 950	11 077	0	0	126 100
Oil sands mining	940	28 743	12 974	213	5335	48 206
Non-metallic mineral mining (e.g. diamond, potash)	148	14 369	7778	10	1403	23 708
Coal mining	182	4280	15 914	1	0	20 377
Non-mining facilities (e.g. metal smelters and foundries, fertilizer manufacturing)	2418	25 278	7853	0	0	35 549
Total	38 841	379 471	100 120	224	6783	525 438
Note: There are a number of important considerations to keep in mind when analyzing NPRI data. For example, the quantities of pollutants reported are not necessarily reflective of risk. Rather, a pollutant’s ability to cause harm to human health and the environment depends on a variety of factors. Please refer to Considerations when using NPRI data for more information.

5. Tailings and waste rock data by substance for 2009:

The tailings and waste rock reports submitted for 2009 include information on disposals and concentrations for 53 substances listed on the NPRI (see Table 5.3).

Manganese, phosphorus, zinc, copper and nickel account for over 80% of amounts disposed of in tailings and waste rock. Heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, hexavalent chromium), and other substances such as benzene and PAHs, were also reported.

Facilities were also required to report on the concentration of the substances in their tailings and waste rock. The concentrations reported for 2009 varied widely. For example, concentrations for arsenic in tailings ranged from 0.004 to 3450 parts per million (ppm), with a median concentration of 4.4 ppm. Reported concentrations of manganese and its compounds in waste rock ranged from 98.6 to 1909 ppm, with a median of 765 ppm (see Table 5.4 below).

All reported information on the concentration of substances in tailings and waste rock is available through the NPRI Online Data Search. Search for an individual facility, and then select the report for a specific substance.

Table 5.3 – Tailings and Waste Rock: Summary of Reported Substances and Concentrations for 2009

Substance	Number of facilities reporting	Quantity reported in tailings and waste rock (tonnes)			Median of reported concentrations (ppm)
		Tailings	Waste rock	Total tailings and waste rock	Tailings	Waste rock
Manganese (and its compounds)	60	189 177	1148	190 325	260	765
Phosphorus (total)	35	95 511	189	95 700	230	1538
Copper (and its compounds)	63	57 616	816	58 432	92.3	134
Zinc (and its compounds)	61	55 264	119	55 383	54.6	67.7
Nickel (and its compounds)	50	36 495	136	36 631	11.4	78.6
Lead (and its compounds)	78	24 399	664	25 063	13.5	10.9
Arsenic (and its compounds)	81	13 013	535	13 548	4.4	10
Chromium (and its compounds)	45	10 719	2312	13 031	30	60
Aluminum oxide (fibrous forms)	2	5257	5457	10 714	n/a	n/a
Vanadium (except when in an alloy) and its compounds	40	8331	65	8395	41	87
Total reduced sulphur (TRS)	2	5164	47	5211	n/a	n/a
Ammonia (total)	8	4146	17	4163	1.55	n/a
Cobalt (and its compounds)	37	3692	53	3745	17.2	24.4
Aluminum (fume or dust)	1	1835	0	1835	n/a	n/a
n-Hexane	1	1444	0	1444	n/a	n/a
Chlorine	1	1384	0	1384	n/a	n/a
Toluene	4	1287	0	1287	0.492	n/a
Ethylbenzene	3	1033	0	1033	0.353	n/a
Xylene (all isomers)	3	1002	0	1002	1.616	n/a
Antimony (and its compounds)	9	550	0.020	550	3.3	6.48
Selenium (and its compounds)	17	312	0.574	313	3.075	4.255
Phenol (and its salts)	2	284	0	284	0.402	n/a
Nitrate ion in solution at pH ≥ 6.0	4	256	0	256	1.25	n/a
Cadmium (and its compounds)	59	189	16	206	0.4	0.46
Benzene	3	162	0	162	0.0728	n/a
Ethylene glycol	1	123	0	123	n/a	n/a
Silver (and its compounds)	11	117	0.056	117	1.825	0.43
Phenanthrene - PAH	6	70	0	70	0.108	n/a
Fluorine	2	45	0	45	n/a	n/a
Pyrene – PAH	6	34	0	34	0.046	n/a
Benzo(a)phenanthrene – PAH	1	30	0	30	n/a	n/a
Benzo(a)anthracene – PAH	5	19	0	19	0.00674	n/a
Asbestos (friable form)	1	17	0	17	n/a	n/a
Mercury (and its compounds)	46	15	0.881	16	0.0574	0.0625
Acenaphthene - PAH	6	14	0	14	0.0087	n/a
Perylene – PAH	4	11	0	11	0.007925	n/a
Benzo(e)pyrene - PAH	5	11	0	11	0.012	n/a
Tetraethyl lead	1	7.4	0	7.4	n/a	n/a
Fluorene – PAH	5	7.2	0	7.2	0.0082	n/a
Fluoranthene - PAH	6	6.1	0	6.1	0.008575	n/a
Naphthalene - PAH	1	4.5	0	4.5	n/a	n/a
Benzo(g,h,i)perylene – PAH	5	4.0	0	4.0	0.0059	n/a
Benzo(a)pyrene - PAH	5	3.9	0	3.9	0.0022	n/a
Benzo(b)fluoranthene – PAH	4	3.2	0	3.2	0.0005	n/a
Benzo(j)fluoranthene – PAH	3	3.1	0	3.1	0.00204	n/a
Indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene – PAH	3	1.8	0	1.8	0.004	n/a
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene – PAH	2	1.6	0	1.6	0.00255	n/a
Hydrogen cyanide	1	1.5	0	1.5	n/a	n/a
Hexavalent chromium (and its compounds)	2	1.3	0	1.3	0.3	n/a
Acenaphthylene - PAH	2	0.203	0	0.203	0.0055	n/a
Cyanides (ionic)	1	0.055	0	0.055	n/a	n/a
Benzo(k)fluoranthene – PAH	2	0.035	0	0.035	0.0055	n/a
Dibenz(a,h)acridine – PAH	1	0.013	0	0.013	n/a	n/a