Ontario just got hit with an earthquake and officials blame this mine
Residents of Northern Ontario’s largest city may have felt a bit of a jolt on Wednesday morning, now confirmed as a 3.1 magnitude “seismic event” by Earthquakes Canada — one being blamed on a local mining operation.
The small rumble was recorded just after 9 am on the morning of May 22 across the Greater Sudbury area, driving locals to social media to share reports of the minor quake.
Earthquakes Canada told local reporters that the seismic event is believed to be related to mining activities at Vale’s Garson Mine.
This is backed up by a statement shared with CTV News by the mine’s operator confirming a seismic event below the 5300 east mining level (referencing its depth in feet below ground) at its Garson site, stating that “periods of increased seismic activity” are “common” at deep mines like these.
This is far from the first time that Vale’s Garson Mine has been the source of quakes in the region, and it’s something experts warned would happen.
A 2020 CBC article covering repeated earthquakes originating in the mine attributes regular shaking in the region to blasting activity occurring deep underground at the Garson site.
Vale officials explained at that time that a type of underground explosive mining method known as “crown blasting” was the cause of the tremors, saying that these artificially induced seismic events can occur a few times per year.
Natural pressures and stresses in the rock deep below the surface are like coiled springs — cut into them at the wrong angle or location, and all of that stored energy can be violently released, causing an earthquake.
Wednesday’s earthquake comes exactly one week after another tremor shook eastern Ontario.
Last Wednesday, just after 12:20 pm, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 9 km below Hawkesbury, Ontario, located just across the Ottawa River from Quebec.
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