A detailed report from a Canadian conservation trust contends that the Red Chris mine in Tahltan First Nations territory in northern British Columbia is contaminating the Iskut River, the largest tributary of the Stikine River, and endangering salmon habitat.
The independent investigative report, released on March 26 by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, notes risks of large-scale mining development to wild salmon populations already vulnerable to rapid climate change, and indicates the contamination could contribute to undocumented extinction of certain populations. Researchers used mostly data that is not readily available, but obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
Physical disruption of habitat, chemical water pollution, and the possibility of tailings dam failures from mining in remote northwest British Columbia watersheds jeopardize recreation and tourism, world-class Pacific salmon fisheries, and the species’ ability to adapt to climate change, the report said.
The tailings dam for this Red Chris mine was constructed over top of a fish bearing portion of Trail Creek, thereby directly eliminating aquatic habitat, according to the report. The tailings facility design is the same as the one that failed on Aug. 4, 2014, causing the Mount Polley mine disaster in British Columbia.
Researchers concluded that critical fish habitat near the mine has been destroyed and that the seepage of contaminants like selenium and copper from the Red Chris Mine’s waste facility and waste rock piles is higher than predicted, and could negatively impact aquatic life.
Levels of selenium detected in fish tissue in nearby lakes are increasing and could be harmful to fish and to people eating them.
High levels of selenium, an essential trace mineral for human health, can be harmful to fish at high levels, causing reproductive impairments, larval deformities and even death, especially when selenium bioaccumulates in the aquatic food chain. Thresholds for dietary selenium toxicity in fish are easily reached and exceeded in contaminated aquatic systems. Excessive selenium can cause a wide variety of toxic effects at the biochemical, cellular, organ, and system levels.
The report includes detailed recommendations that apply specifically to the Red Chris mine, including further assessment and mitigation actions for seepage interception and to reduce waste rock seepage, monitoring of groundwater and surface water quality. For management of tailings facilities, the report urges routine updates to geological models and monitoring the stability of weak glaciolacustrine foundation layers.
The report says assessment and approval of the proposed expansion of the mine must not be expedited at the expense of robust consideration of existing and future environmental risks. These include improved understanding of potential seismic hazards and potential effects on fish and fish habitat.
“What the world must know is that if any of these dams fail, we have no recourse,” said Richard Peterson, president of the Tlingit & Haida Central Council. “There is no way to compensate for the loss of a way of life. No way to hold mining companies accountable. No insurance company in the world has covered mine waste dams. We all know if the mining companies had to be insured, their practices would change.”
The report was released in the middle of British Columbia’s 30-day comment period, scheduled to close on April 10.
Owners of the mine, Newmont Corporation and Imperial Metals Corporation, have proposed to shift
from open-pit copper and gold mining to underground block-cave copper and gold mining of low-grade ore at Red Chris, as well as significantly ramping up production. Risks and uncertainties associated with block-cave mining include landslides and negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems, on top of the existing issues of toxic seepage and instability at the tailings dams, Tlingit & Haida Central Council noted in its comments.
Breanna Walker, director of the conservation entity Salmon Beyond Borders, said her organization was grateful to the Canadian researchers who had brought this information to light.
“It is a cautionary tale,” Walker said. “This is exactly why almost every Southeast Alaska municipality and several tribes have called for a ban on mine waste dams along the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk transboundary salmon rivers. This is not about the U.S. versus Canada; it’s about the chronic problems with modern large-scale mining and the lack of industry-wide standards and polluter pays policies that will adequately protect people and the environment.”
“It’s mind-boggling that mining companies are allowed to build risky earthen mine waste dams in these pristine river valleys in the first place – especially since experts predict all tailings dams will eventually fail,” said Heather Hardcastle, Salmon Beyond Borders advisor. “The clean, cold salmon river systems of this region are the true wealth, not specks of gold and a giant lake of acidic mine waste that threaten the health of the entire Stikine-Iskut watershed.”
