Vale Canada Limited (Vale) owns mining and mineral processing facilities in the City of Greater Sudbury that have been operating since the late 1800s. Central operations include mining, milling, smelting and refining of sulphidic ore to produce principally nickel and copper metal. In 1989, milling was consolidated to the Clarabelle Mill that uses the Central Tailings Area (CTA) to manage tailings. The CTA has been in operation since the late 1930s and closure is not expected for several decades. The CTA covers approximately 28 km2, making it one of the largest and oldest operating tailings management facilities in North America. Given the sulphide bearing ores and net surplus precipitation climate of the Sudbury area, the CTA ponds are a key to managing Acid Rock Drainage and flow control within the central operations. Waste water and runoff from most of the central operations is also pumped to the CTA ponds. These additional sites add 25 km2 to the area serviced by Vale's Copper Cliff Water Management System. This water management system will be required for the current life of operations (until approximately year 2050) and possibly for many decades following closure.
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