Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines – Page 60

B.C. First Nations urge province not to cherry-pick from mine report advice – by Geordon Omand (Canadian Press/CTV News – February 4, 2015)

February 4, 2015

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/

First Nations leaders are urging the B.C. government to adopt each of the seven recommendations laid out in a review of the Mount Polley mine disaster.

First Nations Summit Grand Chief Ed John said the resulting “massive breach of public confidence” means the province cannot afford to cherry-pick from the conclusions of a report into a tailings dam failure in the province’s Interior.

“I think when you mix water and tailings it’s a recipe for disaster,” John told a news conference Tuesday, commending the work of a government-ordered expert panel that blamed poor dam design for the collapse at the open pit gold and copper mine.

The report, released last week, said building the mine’s tailings site on a sloped glacial lake failed to account for drainage and erosion.

It likened the ad hoc approach to the pond’s design and construction to loading a gun and pulling the trigger. “We urge the province of British Columbia ΓÇª to know and understand this is not a smorgasbord,” said Grand Chief Stewart Philip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs about the seven recommendations.

He called on the B.C. government to take immediate action in implementing the panel’s conclusions.

Documents missing, unanswered questions on Mount Polley dam breach – by Vaughn Palmer (Vancouver Sun – February 3, 2015)

February 4, 2015

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

What’s in the 150 pages of material withheld by the B.C. government?

VICTORIA — When a trio of engineering experts reported their findings on the failure of the Mount Polley tailings dam last week, they warned that not every document assembled by their panel could be released.

Some 100 of 850 documents were withheld on directions from the ministry of mines and the ministry of environment, which were still conducting their own investigations into the disaster.

Not wanting to compromise ongoing investigations was one reason, protection of privacy the other. But the result prevented publication, for now anyway, of the supporting documentation for the most telling findings in the report.

Still, one can make assumptions about the contents of the withheld documents by working backwards from the meagre details provided, coupled with the brief passages quoted in the panel report.

The government ordered the exclusion of most of the documents produced by BGC Engineering, the firm that was hired by the mine operator in 2013 to preside over the next raising of the dam to keep ahead of the rising water level in the tailings pond.

Mining industry welcomes BC’s independent panel report on Mount Polley – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – February 3, 2015)

February 3, 2015

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has committed to reviewing the information and recommendations of the Friday-released report examining the August 2014 tailings dam failure at the Mt Polley mine, in British Columbia, with a view to enhancing tailings dam safety.

The report, compiled by the British Columbia government-appointed independent panel, concluded that the cause of the tailings dam breach was a layer of clay underneath the dam that was not taken into account in the original design. The panel stated that the failure occurred notwithstanding effective regulatory oversight.

“The tailings dam failure at the Mt Polley mine was an unfortunate incident that has been taken seriously by the entire industry. While a necessary component of mining, tailings facilities create risks that need to be effectively managed. We believe that every effort must be taken to prevent failures and we support continual advancement in their design, operation and management,” MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton said.

Immediately following the breach, while the cause was still unknown at the time, MAC proactively initiated a review of its tailings management programme. This included a review of the tailings management requirements of MAC’s mandatory Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative, as well as the association’s three tailings management guides.

Mount Polley spill taints Alaska-B.C. mine relations – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – February 1, 2015)

February 2, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

VANCOUVER — A provincial government report that found the tailings pond dam at Mount Polley collapsed because it was built on a weak foundation has heightened concerns in Alaska about British Columbia’s mine safety standards.

Commercial fishermen, native organizations and the mayors of two Alaska communities say they are worried the Red Chris mine, now being built in northern British Columbia by the same company that owns Mount Polley, poses a similar risk.

Both the company and the government, however, have issued assurances that the new mine is safe. In a joint statement, the Alaskans say they “want to have an equal seat at the table with Canada in discussions about how and if watersheds shared by both countries are developed.”

The Red Chris copper-gold mine is currently under construction near Iskut, B.C. It is located near the headwaters of the Stikine, one of the most important salmon rivers flowing into Southeast Alaska. Several other B.C. mines are proposed in the area.

“The Mount Polley tailings dam was approved by Canadian regulators to last in perpetuity, yet it failed in less than 20 years.

Mining Must Evolve to Prevent Future Mount Polleys, Reviewers Find – by Andrew MacLeod (The Tyee.ca – January 30, 2015)

February 2, 2015

http://thetyee.ca/

‘We can’t continue to use technology that’s 100 years old,’ chair warns.

A breach in the Mount Polley mine tailings pond dam was caused by a design flaw, an independent panel of engineers reported Friday.

Using a layer of material in the dam foundation that was weaker than thought was the equivalent of a “loaded gun,” said Norbert Morgenstern, the chair of the three-person Mount Polley Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel.

“Building with the steep slope… pulled the trigger,” he said. “The two things together constitute the root cause of the failure.”

The dam at the copper and gold mine near Williams Lake, British Columbia was originally built in 1997 and had been added to over the years. In August 2014, a breach in a perimeter dam on the north side of the tailings pond spilled millions of cubic metres of toxic tailings and waste water into Polley Lake and Quesnel Lake.

“The panel recognizes we can’t continue business as usual,” said Steven Vick, a geotechnical engineer on the panel. “No failures are acceptable under the task we’ve been given… We can’t continue to use technology that’s 100 years old.”

A ‘doomed’ tailings dam and a system that ‘institutionalizes failure’ – by Vaughn Palmer (Vancouver Sun – January 31, 2015)

February 2, 2015

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Report calls for systemic (and costly) change that will eliminate possibility of dam failures

VICTORIA — The tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine was “doomed to fail” and the remedies that could have prevented the reckoning were undertaken “too little and too late.”

Such was the depressing, persuasive conclusion of the trio of experts appointed to review last August’s breach of the dam — an environmental catastrophe that need not have happened at all.

The root cause of the failure, they determined, was literally at the root of the dam: an underlying deposit of glacial till that was never fully mapped nor properly understood. We only know about it now because of the forensic engineering work that was part of their review.

But if that were the whole story, their report would not be as troubling as it is. For authors Norbert Morgenstern, Dirk van Zyl and Steven Vick — all experts in engineering — painted a far from flattering portrait of the Mount Polley operation and the constant raising of the dam that preceded the breach.

“Dam-raising proceeded incrementally, one year at a time, driven by impoundment storage requirements for only the next year ahead,” they write. “More reactive than anticipatory, there was little in the way of long-term planning or execution.”

B.C. report on Mount Polley results will decide Morrison mine’s fate – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – January 29, 2015)

January 30, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

VICTORIA — One of the little-known casualties of the Mount Polley mining disaster was a proposed new mine hundreds of kilometres away, its fate left in limbo since the tailings pond dam collapsed.

When the provincial government releases a report Friday on the cause of the massive breach at Mount Polley, it will be forced to reconsider its decision on the Morrison mine project.

In the fall of 2012, British Columbia refused to issue a certificate for the Morrison copper-gold mine, despite the fact a government report had concluded it would not result in significant adverse effects if mitigation measures were followed. It was a surprising decision from a pro-resource government that had systematically streamlined regulation and reduced oversight to encourage investment. Suddenly, the industry was questioning whether the ground rules for mining in British Columbia had changed.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge overturned the government’s decision in December, 2013, saying the province had failed to meet the requirements of procedural fairness. At the time of the original decision to reject the Morrison mine, then-environment minister Terry Lake explained that his government had applied new “risk versus benefit” criteria that the proponent, Pacific Booker Minerals Inc., failed to meet.

Report on Mount Polley mining disaster set for release – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – January 28, 2015)

January 28, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

VICTORIA — A report to be released on Friday will pinpoint the cause of the Mount Polley dam failure and is expected to lead to new safety standards for the entire Canadian mining industry.

But blame and consequences for any misconduct won’t be part of the story this week. Almost six months after the ecological disaster, responsibility for the collapse of the tailings pond that released millions of cubic metres of waste material into Quesnel Lake and other waterways in central British Columbia is still under investigation.

The provincial government is set to release the results of a geotechnical inquiry by an independent panel – this will be the engineers’ explanation of what went wrong.

The report’s findings could pave the way for the partial reopening of the copper and gold mine 55 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake. Two other investigations have yet to be published that would determine if any fines or prosecution are warranted – one by the Chief Inspector of Mines and the second by the Conservation Officer Service, a law-enforcement body that would send any recommendations for charges to provincial Crown Counsel.

B.C. First Nation to probe pollutants despite assurances from mine – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – January 22, 2015)

January 23, 2015

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

VANCOUVER — A small native community in central British Columbia has launched a health study into the possible impacts of a copper mine, despite assurances from the company that its research shows there’s no reason for concern.

Chief Bernie Mack of the 180-member Esdilagh First Nation said as tailings from the Gibraltar Mine build up around reserve lands, concerns are growing that pollutants may be seeping into the ecosystem.

“Number one thing is, our community members fear the resources and the water around the mine are contaminated. So why we are doing this research is to find out how safe the ecosystem and the health of the environment is,” Mr. Mack said Thursday.

A research team from the University of Victoria and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, a Switzerland-based agency that works globally, will conduct the research. Mr. Mack said many Esdilagh members grew up with the mine almost in their back yards, but they have become increasingly concerned about the operation.

BC chief inspector of mines amends Mt Polley Act to enable repairs to start – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – December 19, 2014)

December 22, 2014

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The chief inspector of mines for British Columbia, Al Hoffman, has approved an amendment to the Mount Polley Mine Corporation Mines Act permit to allow the company to start repairs of the breach in its tailings storage facility dam.

The repair work was part of the long-term remediation plan for the area impacted by the August Mount Polley breach, the provincial Ministry of Energy and Mines said. The work at the tailings storage facility would help ensure that the increased water flow from melting snow (also known as spring freshet or spring breakup) will not result in further environmental or human health impacts.

The amendment to the mine’s permit only authorises the company to undertake the approved breach repair work and set out a number of conditions that would have to be followed by Imperial Metals subsidiary Mount Polley Mining Corporation. The amendment does not allow the mine to restart its ore-processing operations.

The Cariboo Mine Development Review Committee, which included technical representatives from the provincial government, Williams Lake Indian Band, Xat’sull First Nation, Cariboo Regional District, Community of Likely, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada had reviewed the Mines Act permit amendment application and geotechnical design for the breach repair.

Transboundary issues remain thorny – by Elwood Brehmer (Alaska Journal of Commerce – December 11, 2014)

December 11, 2014

http://www.alaskajournal.com/

Alaska groups concerned about the impact of British Columbia mines on Southeast fisheries continue to push for federal intervention in Canada’s project review process.

Leaders from Rivers Without Borders, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Salmon Beyond Borders and the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Working Group urged attendees of the Dec. 2 Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Providers Conference in Anchorage to sign a petition requesting Secretary of State John Kerry to initiate the International Joint Commission process — the only way the Alaskans can have their voices heard they said.

The commission, or IJC, consists of five commissioners, two from Canada and three from the U.S., who review transboundary watershed issues. The IJC can only get involved when called upon by both governments. In the U.S., the State Department makes that call.

Rivers Without Borders Alaska Campaign Director Chris Zimmer said there are about a dozen proposed mines in British Columbia that his organization is concerned about. However, the Kerr Sulphurets Mitchell, or KSM, gold proposal on the British Columbia side of the Unuk River drainage seems to be top priority for most individuals worried about the issue.

Alaskans fear environmental, industrial threats from B.C. mines – by Dirk Meissner (Canadian Press – December 3, 2014)

December 3, 2014

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/news/

Alaskan environmental, aboriginal groups say unchecked development threatens salmon and tourism industries

VICTORIA—British Columbia’s ambition of opening new mines in the province’s north has raised fears in neighbouring Alaska where environmental and aboriginal groups say the unchecked development threatens their salmon and tourism industries.

Tribal leaders and salmon-protection advocates gathered at a Bureau of Indian Affairs conference in Anchorage, and high on the agenda was the impact of B.C. mineral developments on the multi-billion-dollar Alaskan industries.

Conference delegates called on the United States State Department to use the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty to activate the International Joint Commission, hold boundary dispute hearings and discuss the important salmon waterways, the communities they support and the risks they face from potential mine contamination.

“We’re asking the U.S. federal government to elevate this issue to the International Joint Commission,” said Guy Archibald, a spokesperson for the southeast Alaska Conservation Council.

Archibald said conservation and aboriginal groups have formed the Salmon Beyond Borders coalition to lobby their government to pressure Canada and B.C.

Teck to control contaminants from mining operations in B.C.’s Elk Valley (Canadian Press/Huffington Post – November 19, 2014)

November 20, 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/british-columbia/

VICTORIA – A plan to address decades of coal-mining contaminants leeched into the Elk Valley watershed has been approved by the B.C. government.

The water treatment plan by Teck Resources Ltd. would control selenium and nitrate that have been dumped into nearby rivers and streams as the mining giant expanded operations over the years.

The company will construct water diversions and treatment facilities at several of its mine sites, including at Line Creek, Fording River and Elkview Operations, the government said. Environment Minister Mary Polak said Tuesday that the measures will improve water quality.

“This plan represents the next step in the long-term plan to ensure a healthy watershed in the Elk Valley,” she said in a statement. “Many different groups have come together to find solutions.”

In April 2013, the government ordered Teck Resources to stabilize and reverse water-quality concentrations. It cited the presence of several chemicals, including selenium, cadmium, nitrate, sulphate and the formation of calcite in the water.

Red Chris mine failure would eclipse Mount Polley damage: report – by By Cara McKenna (CBC News British Columbia – November 19, 2014)

November 20, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia

Porous soil at site of proposed tailings pond dam called a ‘major design issue’

The Canadian Press – The results of a third-party review into the design of a northwestern B.C. gold and copper mine says it has the potential to cause significantly more environmental damage than the recent collapse of the Mount Polley tailings pond.

Engineering firm Klohn Crippen Berger made 22 recommendations for the owner of the mine, Imperial Metals, to improve the tailings dam of the Red Chris mine, 500 kilometres north of Terrace.

The review found the design of the dam is feasible, but that there are issues that must be addressed. The three-phased review looks at the tailings pond design, water quality predictions and geohazards at the mine site.

It identifies a “major design issue” for the soil on which the dams would be built, noting the porous soil could cause damaging water leaks if the planned installation of a fine-grained tailings blanket isn’t enough to limit seepage.

It also suggests that designers carefully monitor the water balance for their tailings reservoir and complete a risk assessment around the effects of another nearby landslide.

Groups ask why no charges have been laid a year after Alberta coal mine spill – by (The Canadian Press/Globe and Mail – November 12, 2014)

November 13, 2014

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

EDMONTON — Conservation groups want to know why no federal or provincial charges have been laid over a massive spill from a coal tailings pond in west-central Alberta.

An estimated 670 million litres of waste water spilled into tributaries that feed into the Athabasca River after an earth berm broke at the Obed Mountain mine on Oct. 31, 2013.

The mine was owned at the time by Sherritt International, which has since sold it to Westmoreland Coal Company. Groups including the Alberta Wilderness Association say Sherritt should be charged under the federal Fisheries Act.

They also say they want both governments to make public what was in the tailings, how the spill has affected the rivers and how it may affect the health of people who live downstream. Federal officials and staff at the Alberta Energy Regulator were not immediately available for comment.

“The lack of enforcement and charges for a spill of this magnitude calls into question the approval of any mining development in Alberta,” Brittany Verbeek, a spokeswoman for the wilderness association, said Wednesday.