Mon, 13 Apr, 2015 12:04:03 AM FTimes – STT Report, April 13 ![]() Water treatment plant at the Talvivaara mine in Sotkamo. File Photo – Str / Lehtikuva. The mine at Talvivaara leaked sludge into nearby water bodies over the weekend.
The sludge, a by-product of the metal recovery plant, leaked into a gypsum pool. The Kainuu Centre for Economic Development estimates that the leak will not have any significant adverse environmental effect.
The leak was discovered Saturday morning.
According to the mining company, the substance leaked into the gypsum basin when especially compacted sludge on the edge of the pool allowed the water level to rise over the edge of the embankment.
Talvivaara says the sludge leaked undetected for up to 10 hours, for a maximum of 2000 cubic meters. The sludge ended up in the Korte pond dam bypass channels and the Snow River (Lumijoki).
According to the company, the concentrations of harmful metals in the sludge are low. The effects are felt mainly as a shift in the water pH as well as increased amounts of aluminium, sulphate and manganese, the latter two exceeding environmental limits.
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