Abstract
The Giant Mine is an abandoned gold mine in the Northwest Territories, 5 km north of the City of Yellowknife. This site is located on Chief Drygeese Territory. From time immemorial, it has been and is the traditional land of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. It is also within Môwhì Gogha Dè Nîîtåèè of the Tłı̨chǫ government and on the traditional homelands of the Indigenous Metis of the North Slave Métis Alliance. Giant Mine has a large footprint, approximately 1600 hectares, and includes eight open pits, four tailing ponds behind 12 dams, 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust stored in 14 chambers and stopes, extensive underground workings, over one million cubic metres of contaminated soils, and approximately 100 buildings with many surface and groundwater concerns and issues, as well as an effluent treatment plant. Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) received a water licence in 2020 to proceed with the implementation of the closure and reclamation plan. This paper describes the site’s key issues, closure criteria and objectives, the closure plan, and the 15-year project implementation plan.