Claude Boutin manipulates a pole to which a glass is attached. He took a sample from the stream at Eau Morte, less than a kilometer from the graphite mine.
He is part of a collective of about fifteen citizens who have been collecting at 25 sampling points for several weeks. Their goal is to document the condition of the water bodies around the mine site.
They intend to conduct the rehearsals to the highest scientific standards. To this end, they were trained by the Society to End Pollution, led by science popularizer Daniel Green, former vice leader of the Green Party of Canada.
We want to catalog what we can take before the major works of the mine and carry out a follow-up with a very serious laboratory, specifies Claude Boutin.
Claude Boutin takes a sample from a stream a few hundred meters from the graphite mine
Photo: Vincent Rességuier
He is accompanied by Daniel Tokateloff, who fills out a standardized form. It is used to list thousands of samples.
This retired engineer believes that the effects of long-term mine tailings should not be overlooked, which he calls the accumulation effect. The mine is currently in the exploration phase. Nouveau Monde Graphite is committed to complying with the applicable standards, but believes that the restrictions are not strict enough.
“There are maximum concentrations that you have to comply with. First, these concentrations are very high. We made the comparison with American standards. You are much weaker [ici]. Second, more things are being investigated in the United States. Third, who reviews these releases? The mine itself. There are no Environment Ministry inspectors. The Ministry of the Environment does not exist. We say this is unacceptable. »
— A quote from Daniel Tokateloff, Secretary of the Association for the Protection of Lake Taureau
The nuisance, he says, could disturb the fauna and flora on a large part of the Matavin River watershed. It will be an open cesspool for me, he exclaims. Taureau Lake, a popular tourist area, is just a few miles down the Eau Morte River.
Mine tailings at risk
In the area, some of the rock contains a large amount of sulphur. It may become acidic on contact with air and water. For this reason, great attention must be paid to mine tailings.
“All of the mine’s drainage flows through the stream at Eau Morte. 100 million tons of mining waste will be dumped. All open pit mines have acid mine drainage, this is the big problem in the industry. »
— A quote from Daniel Tokateloff
The Matawinie mine project plans to mine 100,000 tonnes of graphite over a period of just over 25 years.
Photo: New World Graphite
In her offices in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Martine Paradis shows us a model of her water protection system. The Vice President of Nouveau Monde Graphite ensures that contamination risks are controlled.
“We have hundreds of wells for groundwater. We sample all the surrounding streams and wetlands. This is what we use to conduct our studies and predict what will happen. Every year we monitor surface water, groundwater, on and near the site. »
— A quote from Martine Paradis, Vice President of Nouveau Monde Graphite
Martine Paradis in front of the Nouveau Monde Graphite offices in Saint-Michel-des-Saints
Photo: Vincent Rességuier
The Quebec government approved the project by decree in 2021. The BAPE had nonetheless recommended that a more detailed hydrogeological study be carried out on the method of disposal of the waste.
Ms. Paradis says she is very confident in the effectiveness of this innovative process she has put in place, an option that is being fully embraced.
However, many citizens of the region do not dare and see this type of storage in co-disposition as not proven.
You are not the only ones. This method is not unanimous in the scientific community, but it convinced Benoît Plante, researcher at the Institute of Mining and Environmental Research. He participated in the planning of mining waste management, his favorite area.
Explanatory diagram of the co-disposition method used by Nouveau Monde Graphite
Photo: courtesy
This professor at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue confirms that this is a new way of storing waste. It relies, he says, on a combination of several methods used elsewhere.
It recognizes that the process is ambitious and not without risks and that its implementation needs to be closely monitored.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, it will require very close monitoring during construction, actions are being taken to track the performance of the materials. It’s all things you can do, and what I like about the approach is the flexibility. If there has ever been a contamination issue, they can adjust the recordings. »
— A quote from Benoît Plante, professor at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Nouveau Monde Graphite plans to start production by 2025. The service life is to be spread over 26 years. Graphite is used in particular to make batteries for electric vehicles.