Environment and Climate Change Canada has laid 200 charges against ArcelorMittal Canada Inc. for alleged deposits of deleterious substances into several fish-bearing waterways made by the Mont-Wright mining complex and the Fire Lake mine in the Fermont region of Quebec.
The Fisheries Act charges involve tributaries of the Moisie River, a provincially planned aquatic reserve, and one of the biggest Atlantic salmon rivers in North America.
The company was previously fined $15 million in 2022 for concealing the extent of toxic substances that entered waters near the Moisie River after a dike rupture in 2012.
Additionally, ArcelorMittal Exploitation Minière Canada s.e.n.c. was fined $100,000 in November 2024 for obstructing Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers during an inspection of the Mont-Wright mining complex. Company officials had refused to provide requested documents.
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The 24-square-kilometre Mont-Wright mining complex is the largest open-pit iron mine in Canada.
Charges related to the more recent incidents of deleterious deposits reportedly occurred between May 2014 and June 2022, according to a federal statement.
