The B.C. government has issued a consent order to allow the Springer Pit expansion project at Mount Polley to go ahead.
The decision was made by Environment and Parks Minister Tamara Davidson and Mining and Critical Minerals Minister Jagrup Brar, and is pending permit applications under the Mines Act and Environmental Management Act. This decision comes 11 years after Mount Polley, an open-pit copper mine located 56 kilometres north-east of Williams Lake, was the site of one of the province's worst mining disasters following the breach of a tailings pond dam.
If all authorizations are received, the expansion would extend the mine's operation to 2033, allowing the deepening of the existing Springer Pit and continued discharge of treated water into Quesnel Lake. It will also expand the rock disposal area of the mine and place potentially acid-causing rocks into the old Cariboo Pit for secure isolation after the completion of mine operations. The government indicated in its release that this expansion will stay within the mine's current boundaries and that there will be no land disturbance beyond its existing footprint.
Davidson and Brar put out a joint statement outlining their reason for approving the expansion. They cited the Environmental Assessment Office's conclusion that the expansion is not likely to have significant impacts because the mine will be kept within its existing footprint. Any impacts, according to the EAO, can be effectively managed through mitigation methods already required by the mine's permitting.
The EAO's review was conducted over the past year in coordination with permitting ministries and involved consultation with the Williams Lake First Nation and Xatśūll First Nation. The ministers acknowledged that the Xatśūll First Nation have raised concerns about the expansion impacting their Section 35 rights by potentially contaminating fish and wildlife, but considers such impacts minor.
"We also note that the Springer Expansion would have positive socio-economic impacts, by extending the life of the mine and providing continued employment and regional economic development. We are aware that Economic and Community Development Agreements for Mt. Polley Mine have provided First Nations with direct mineral tax revenue to support the enhancement of social, economic and cultural well-being of the First Nations’ members," the minister stated.
The ministers acknowledged in their statement that while a consensus was not reached with the Xatśūll First Nation, they were aware that the province is working closely with them to address their overarching concerns about mining on their traditional territory.
Mount Polley was the site of one of the province's worst mining environmental disasters in B.C. history in 2014 when the dam holding back a tailings pond burst, allowing 17 million cubic metres of water and eight million cubic metres of material to spill into nearby waterways, including Polley Lake, Quesnel Lake and Hazeltine Creek.
The disaster led to two separate investigations by an independent expert engineering panel and the chief inspector of mines in 2015. Following the investigation, the province implemented the investigation's findings, including strengthening the regulation of tailings ponds under the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in B.C. updated in 2016.
Mount Polley reopened in 2016 after the company spent millions of dollars cleaning up the spill. In April of this year, the Environment and Parks and Mining and Critical Minerals approved an increase to the height of the tailings dam by four metres. This was done to ensure extra capacity if needed during the spring runoff.
More to come.
