Revegetation of the Waite Amulet Tailings Discharge Areas

"After an extensive period of University research and field trials, large scale reclamation of the Waite Amulet tailings discharge areas commenced in the spring of 1978. The Noranda program consists principally of sampling the complete dam to determine the vegetation potential of the various areas, addition of the required amelioration materials, and the use of good agricultural practices. This paper describes the development work that led to the establishment of the Noranda-Guelph Contract and the subsequent findings concerning the revegetation of tailings dams. Current revegetation procedures are presented. INTRODUCTIONThe Amulet Mine Ltd. was staked in 1924 and by 1930 had constructed a small 300 ton per day flotation plant. During the late twenties and early thirties, Noranda Mines Ltd. increased its equity in the company to gain a sixty percent share of this small mine. In 1933 the mine was amalgamated with another small producer, the Waite Ackerman Montgomery Mine Ltd., which was more than eighty per cent controlled by Noranda to form the Waite Amulet Mines Ltd.An interesting historical side point to the story of the Waite Ackerman Montgomery property is that a concentrator was never constructed. In fact, the first ore to go through the Horne mill of Noranda Mines Ltd., built in 1928, was not from the famous upper H and L ore bodies but custom shipments from the Waite."