Together with SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, we have produced an interactive online map of tailings facilities in B.C. The map provides communities with critical information about the risks posed by billions of cubic metres of toxic wet mine waste, called tailings, stored behind some of the highest dams in the world.
Risks escalating due to more frequent catastrophic climate change-related weather events July 14, 2022 The waste created by British Columbia’s accelerating mining boom is a growing threat to communities and watersheds throughout the province, according to a new report released today. The increase in extreme weather events brought on by climate change intensifies this threat:… Read more »
An important new scientific paper out today in Science Advances from 23 science and policy experts draws attention to the massive scale and scope of mining in western North America — and the many ways those estimated 3,600 active and past mines threaten some of the last remaining intact wild salmon and trout rivers in the world.
Earthworks, MiningWatch Canada, and the London Mining Network have released an updated version of their Safety First guidelines for improving the management of mine waste disposal facilities, also known as tailings dams. The guidelines were updated as tailings dams around the world are failing with increasing frequency and severity, a risk expected to increase with climate-related extreme weather events.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation has released an interim policy on mine reclamation bonding, detailing the financial security mines are required to pay up front to cover the costs of reclamation – a significant step in the right direction in the right direction toward encouraging mining companies to minimize the environmental damage they cause.
Imperial Metals has applied for an extension to its permit to continue discharging wastewater from the Mount Polley mine into Quesnel Lake. Take action with the Concerned Citizens of Quesnel Lake to oppose the application.
New expert analysis reveals that British Columbia is lagging behind other jurisdictions in Canada and globally when it comes to mine waste safety. The report looks at the B.C. government’s first ever Audit of Code Requirements for Tailings Storage Facilities, released last year, and makes recommendations on how to improve existing laws and regulations on mine waste safety to protect communities and the environment.
More than seven years after the dam breach at Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine, communities and the environment are still at risk from mine waste failures in British Columbia. The province lags behind other jurisdictions in Canada and globally in mine waste storage safety.
On September 13th, the Mining Association of Canada presented its ‘Towards Sustainable Mining’ (TSM) standard at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. MiningWatch Canada and the BC Mining Law Reform (BCMLR) network released this backgrounder on these voluntary standards, which the B.C. government often refer to even as it ignores pressure from the public and First Nations to improve its legal and regulatory controls on mining…
