An environmental group says it is making “absolutely no progress” in improving water management conditions and is resigning from an advisory committee for B.C.’s Gibraltar Mine.
The Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society said its focus as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the past eight years has been to protect the health of the Fraser River Watershed. The society said while it disagreed with “direct discharge of tailings effluent into” the Fraser, it was willing to work with the mining company to improve the quality of the water being discharged.
“It is clear after eight years of continuous involvement we have made absolutely no progress,” Bill Lloyd, CCCS chair, said in a letter sent on Sunday to Gibraltar Mine. “Local mine staff have been receptive to our concerns, but senior mine management and the Ministry of Environment have not supported our position.”
Gibraltar Mine is 75 per cent owned by Taseko Mines Ltd., whose headquarters is in Vancouver. The mine, the second-largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, is located northeast of Williams Lake.
The company website says the mine is “located in a mining-friendly and low-risk jurisdiction.” Its replacement value is estimated in excess of $1 billion.
Brian Battison, vice-president of corporate affairs for Taseko Mines, said the company was “surprised by the resignation and disappointed” that CCCS will no longer be participating.
Battison said the current technical committee was created to review at least once every five years a permit granted in October 2015 that allows for an increase in the discharge of water into the Fraser River.
Asked about the CCCS saying that no progress had been made in improving water quality, Battison said: “I think it is fair to say that it has been frustrating for the parties.”
Battison said it is now primarily up to the provincial government to determine if there will be any amendments to the 2015 permit.
“The ultimate obligation for the conduct of the mine rests with the mine and the law,” he said. “We abide by the law — always have. We’re in compliance with our permits.”
Membership on the technical committee includes the Esdilagh, one of the Tsilhqot’in First Nations bands, federal and provincial governments and Taseko.
The CCCS, incorporated in 1996, is an environmental conservation group. On the advisory committee, the society was meant to represent the concerns of the public.
Lloyd said in the letter that CCCS was resigning “with reluctance and a sense of failure.”
Gibraltar Mine is surrounded by natural wetlands that would complement many kinds of passive treatment, Lloyd said. Passive treatment, Lloyd believes, could be used for water from de-watering wells and perimeter ditches.
Passive wastewater treatment uses biological and ecological processes that don’t have to rely on the addition of chemicals.
Proper site water management, he said, requires a commitment from mine management and Ministry of Environment to “take a common sense (non-regulatory) approach to work together on environmentally acceptable solutions.
“The relationship that exists at present is totally dysfunctional and will result in a mine that, at closure, will still be dumping all their contaminated water into the Fraser River,” Lloyd said. “Direct discharge into the Fraser River is an easy solution for both parties, but it is not the correct one for the health of the watershed. The cumulative effects of this practice will remain unknown for some time. … It is a problem that will be inherited by our grandchildren and the taxpayer.”
Taseko acquired Gibraltar in 1999 when the mine was slated to close. After spending $700 million to modernize the mine, it started producing again in 2004. The company website said Gibraltar had reserves to keep going for another 22 years to 2039.
A Vancouver Sun story in 2015 said there is no indication that the earth-and-rock dam at Gibraltar Mine is at any risk of collapse.
Also located in the Cariboo is Mount Polley copper and gold mine, whose mine tailings dam failed in 2014. The Mount Polley mine disaster released 25 million cubic metres of toxic waste water and construction materials into Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake.
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