Pelly Construction Ltd. has been awarded the $44.4-million contract for work on the Faro mine remediation project, the federal government announced today.

“Remediating at the Faro Mine Site is our community’s top priority,” Chief Jack Caesar of the Ross River Dena Council said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

“Working with Yukon and Canada, as the community most affected by this contaminated site, we share the view that the remediation work must move forward as quickly as possible.

“Today’s announcement, awarding the contract to further this remediation work, is what our community has been looking forward to for many years.”

The contract involves realigning the North Fork of Rose Creek to prevent the creek from coming into contact with contaminated water on the site, says the news release.

The Faro lead-zinc mine was declared abandoned in 1998. It is among the most contaminated sites in Canada.

Because the mine was approved and permitted by the federal government, the cost of remediation is Ottawa’s responsibility.

Records show the federal government has spent $480 million to date looking after the site and conducting some remediation work.

It’s estimated another $50 million to $75 million will be spent this year, pushing the total cost so far to over a half a billion dollars.

Ottawa expects to have a long-term remediation plan into the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board for review by the end of this year.

“The work to protect the North Fork Rose Creek and clean up the Faro Mine site will not only safeguard our environment but provide employment and skills training that will benefit local First Nations and the Yukon for years to come,” said Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.

Reclaiming the Faro site entails dealing with three open pits, a massive tailings facility, creek diversions, piles of waste rock and so forth.

Mining at the site began in 1969, though operations were interrupted by several significant labour disputes and a closure from 1982 to 1986.