In 1999, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) awarded a one-year, $2 million contract to a consortium of aboriginal businesses from DetonÇho Corporation, the Dogrib Rae Band and the North Slave Métis Alliance to undertake final reclamation activities at the Colomac Mine. The consortium conducted studies into contamination and took responsibility for on-going environmental monitoring and maintenance of the site. After the contract was awarded, Royal Oak Mine was finally charged under the Water Act and the Fisheries Act for the pollution it had caused, this was much too late, since the company was already in receivership.