Finnish London-listed mining company Talvivaara said it will work with authorities to assess the need for a clean-up of leaked uranium found at the bottom of lakes near its Sotkamo nickel mine but does not expect such operations to be costly.
Nuclear safety authority STUK said water samples taken last week from Lake Salminen, near the mine in eastern Finland, showed uranium levels six times higher than levels advised for drinking water.
Chief Executive Pekka Pera said Talvivaara expected authorities overseeing its operations to decide during the next few months if the water should be pumped out or cleaned up.
“It would take a half of a day to pump out that amount of water and chemicals worth a couple of thousands of euros,” Pera estimated.
STUK said the levels of uranium in waters near the mine had decreased since the leak but the latest data suggested there was still a heavy concentration of pollution in some lakes.
See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-fast-news?oid=181766&sn=Detail.