Vale Inco slurry spill reported to Ministry of Environment

A spill of concentrated ore slurry at Clarabelle Mill which occurred overnight Nov. 11 has been reported to the Ministry of the Environment. File photo.

Nov 11, 2009- 4:29 PM

By: Sudbury Northern Life Staff

A spill of concentrated ore slurry at Clarabelle Mill, which occurred overnight Nov. 10, has been reported to the Ministry of the Environment.

The slurry, which is cold, was being transferred from a thickener machine - where water is decanted and the ore is thickened - to a storage tank, when an old pipe carrying the slurry split and the substance spilled.

Vale Inco spokesperson Steve Ball said there is no danger to the public or to employees. A citizen had phoned Northern Life to report the spill.

“It's not anything out of the ordinary. It happens in normal operations. We have pipes fail because they're old pipes. We're cleaning it (the slurry) up and repairing it (the pipe). In a normal situation, you wouldn't even hear about it.”

The spill was reported to the Ministry of the Environment because “we are required to report spills of that nature,” said Ball.

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18 Comments

carebear_2 3/26/2010 6:08:15 AM - Report Abuse

WHOA WHOA WHOA PEOPLE, there is nothing said about "miners crying" about this situation, why the hell is this the unions fault? Think about what you people are saying. Basically what I can tell from most of your is that will harp on 6500 on anything possible. They did nothing wrong, never have, do u think defending what you have is "crying"? NO, let's say someone walked into your place of business, bought it, then tries to cut your wages, would you be a happy camper? i think not, let's stay together as a team and support or neighbors, families, and friends!!!!!! GET OFF YOUR PEDESTAL PEOPLE
Clarica 11/17/2009 11:27:11 PM - Report Abuse

Phill Morris,
Are you sure that during normal working conditions that the pipe wouldn't have been pointed out by the regular operators who know what is what?
And as for Ball's idiotic comment that a spill like this is "normal operations" just goes to show the ignoramuss view this company is taking towrds our environment.
gagan84 11/12/2009 11:08:32 PM - Report Abuse

I am so tired of miners crying about this. If they were not so greedy then well maybe....
Carbunkle 11/12/2009 10:45:58 PM - Report Abuse

In response to mickey3939. Lets hope the "scab"operators do a good job at the Oxygen plant. After all, it is pretty pathetic when the operators who work there with 20 years experience have to call a staff person in at 3 AM in the morning everytime the plant trips, because they are not competant enought to start it back up.....DOH!!!
drifter 11/12/2009 6:21:19 PM - Report Abuse

Well Peair.......Your statement describes situation normal at Vale Inco ........except for the picket lines on the road.
Peair 11/12/2009 3:08:36 PM - Report Abuse

Just a small indicator of what is about to come. Spills, frozen pipes, inadequately trained operator error, poor planning, greed, etc will all contribute. Costs to date $5 million per day. costs to come....much more.
Informed 11/12/2009 11:44:35 AM - Report Abuse

Well said grage27
mars_5 11/12/2009 10:19:27 AM - Report Abuse

Okay people, read the article. It doesn't say that Vale didn't report the incident to the MoE... they obviously did. It was a 'citizen' who reported it to the media. Why should Vale report it to the media? They did what they were suppose to do.
Oh, and Kratos, are you telling me that with the 6500 workers, accidents like this NEVER happen?
grage27 11/12/2009 10:05:23 AM - Report Abuse

come on now! really.... A spill of concentrate. just because local 6500 is on strike you are going to try and say that a spill of concentrate is such a bad thing. I have been in the mining industry for over a decade now and a spill of concentrate is such a small thing in the grand scheme of things.Really... quit acting like children and go back to work if you are so concerned about things while the company still has jobs for you .If you don't suck it up and go back to work who says that the company is going to want you to work for it. You are not acting like responsible adults here but like spoiled children. Smarten up
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/11/2009 11:54:08 PM - Report Abuse

A citizen had phoned Northern Life to report the spill. Highly unlikely, nor would it have mattered if Ball himself had reported the spill. There may have been toxic chemicals in the slurry when water is decanted and the ore is thickened endangering drinking water or the water table. Steve Ball said there is no danger to the public but “we are required to report spills of that nature,”...If there was no danger to the public, then the spill must have posed an enviromental danger? He goes on to say.. In a normal situation, you wouldn't even hear about it.” I would have to agree because its been the norm here that both big business and government are not accountable to the citizens. the Ministry of Enviroment didnt have any comment. Wonder if Valle Excecs and politicians will be present when the smelter is fired up. One thing for sure...strikers and govt/valle security will be there.
Kratos624 11/11/2009 7:42:59 PM - Report Abuse

It's quite obvious that a well trained employee of 6500 would have noticed an old pipe BEFORE they would fill it with slurry and have it break and leak. Keep trying Phillip, but you're the one who looks foolish!
Phillip Morris 11/11/2009 7:18:34 PM - Report Abuse

Sorry to burst your bubble 6500, but the spill was not the fault of an employee. - Nice try. lol!

The article CLEARLY states its from an old pipe breaking. Something normal that you wouldn't even hear about. - I told you so!
It's quite obvious that the union will use any excuse to try and bolster their beaten position.
Perhaps Fera can blame the upcoming winter snow on replacement workers?
Sceptic_3 11/11/2009 6:32:29 PM - Report Abuse

Notice the article says it was reported by a citizen...huh?..who the hell lives anywhere near there? And is no-one working in there that would notice this large of a leak, or are they all snoozing on nightshift? I hope there is a tighter protocol if, and when,anyone fires up the smelter!
Kratos624 11/11/2009 6:30:08 PM - Report Abuse

Heard the alarms going off at the 2 mines in copper cliff last week. Now another spill, oh yes, lets keep training people who have no knowledge of plant processes. I just hope they don't wipe out half of Copper Cliff. They wouldn't even know hit them. Let's get the real operators back to work Vale! Hey Phillip Morris....I told ya so! HA! But I guess a toxic spill isn't too bad though right? Pull your head out of your backside and take a look around.
mickey3939 11/11/2009 6:24:51 PM - Report Abuse

this is just the beginning...there training scabs to operate the O2 plant which requires a minimum of 6 months of training..sounds like its been reduced to maybe a few months....glad i dont live in copper cliff...that is one big bomb out there..
normduster 11/11/2009 6:10:11 PM - Report Abuse

Wait folks,when they start the converters in the smelter and they spill on the floor or the furnance spill on the floor then its going to be deadly for people working in that area...lots of people I talk to all say the samething...the whole city and Vale and government are waiting for someone to get KILL before things are settle!!!!!!!!!
beefy 11/11/2009 5:56:13 PM - Report Abuse

I didn't even think that this story was about 6500, but Phillip about town obviously reads it differently. Oh well, we all know what he's about anyway. I wonder if Vale would have reported this spill if a citizen hadn't called it in first.
Phillip Morris 11/11/2009 5:16:20 PM - Report Abuse

Watch the "I told you so- Somebody is gonna get killed!" folks come out of the weeds here.
Yet, they won't accept that spills, accidents, and fatalities occur with the 'expert' 6500 on the job.
This is a minor incident. Wouldn't even be newsworthy if the labour dispute was going on. The Steelworkers wouldn't let one of their mistakes see the light of the media.
By the way, overnight November 11th hasn't happened yet.......