Cassidy Lake mine building demolition fails after first try
A planned demolition at the site that was once home to the Cassidy Lake potash mine did not go as planned Saturday morning.
The demolition began at 8 a.m. and after the primary detonation occurred, the structure was still standing.
CBC News has learned the blast was supposed to be one of several designed to take the structure down.
The demolition was not successful because the stilts supporting the building failed to break and prevented the building from tipping over and collapsing.
The company responsible for the demolition says half of the blasting caps activated, but there was a problem with the other half of the explosives.
Another demolition attempt today is not likely because authorities must give appropriate notice to the public.
Additional security will remain in place at the site until the demolition is completed to keep people away from the drop zone for safety.
The Cassidy Lake mine stopped operation in 1997 when it flooded. A 70-acre tailings pile and brine pond with a liner underneath remained. That liner, which dates from the 1980s, has been compromised, allowing brine — essentially salt water — to drain into the ground beneath.
Last fall, it was announced that Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp was working with a consultant and had drilled additional wells on the mine property to capture water moving underground. The water is then pumped back into the brine pond and eventually sent by pipeline 34 kilometres to the Bay of Fundy.
The decommissioning of non-essential structures began in 2009 at the site. Office buildings were the first to go, followed by a product-storage building, auxiliary buildings and the head frame were all imploded in 2010.
