Athabasca Minerals Inc. received approval of its Susan Lake Public Pit Closure Plan by Alberta Environment & Parks (AEP) on Aug. 15, and also has executed a Settlement Agreement with Syncrude Canada Ltd effective Sept. 26.
Aggregate operations at Susan Lake Public Pit were concluded on March 31. Thereafter, AMI submitted an updated Closure Plan to AEP on May 17, which included:
• The discontinuance of Surface Mineral Lease (SML) 980110 associated with Susan Lake Public Pit.
• The transfer of custody of the portion of lands overlapping with Mineral Surface Leases (MSL) to neighboring oil sands operators in the area.
• A reclamation program for the remaining non-overlapping lands.
Closure Plan submission and approval followed in accordance with AEP guidelines, and in cooperation with industry stakeholders.
In the Settlement Agreement between AMI and Syncrude both parties agreed to file discontinuances of the claim and counterclaim by AMI and Syncrude respectively per Court File # 1703-10489.