Assessing vulnerability of waters to mining in the Rainy Lake of the Woods watershed

The cumulative impacts of past, present, and potential mining in the transboundary Lake of the Woods Rainy River basin has been a concern and an understudied topic for many years. 

The purpose of this project is to conduct an 18-month study to develop a shared, accessible, bi-national understanding of the extent of historical and current mining, mineral potential, and the availability of relevant data required to assess mining impacts within the basin. This will be completed through identifying existing data and conducting spatial analyses to support the development of a risk identification framework 

The results of this study will provide baseline data to identify locations where future mining impacts are most likely to occur as well as allow the board to better assess what additional data may be needed to make informed recommendations on mining impacts to water quality.