Multi-trophic level response to extreme metal contamination from gold mining in a subarctic lake.

ABSTRACT: Giant Mine, located in the city of Yellowknife (Northwest Territories, Canada), is a dramatic example of subarctic legacy contamination from mining activities, with remediation costs projected to exceed $1 billion. Operational between 1948 and 2004, gold extraction at Giant Mine released large quantities of arsenic and metals from the roasting of arsenopyrite ore. We examined the long-term ecological effects of roaster emissions on Pocket Lake, a small lake at the edge of the Giant Mine lease boundary, using a spectrum of palaeoenvironmental approaches. A dated sedimentary profile tracked striking increases (approx. 1700%) in arsenic concentrations coeval with the initiation of Giant Mine operations. Large increases in mercury, antimony and lead also occurred. Synchronous changes in biolog

SUBMITTER: Thienpont JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5013768 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature