Mining News

RED CHRIS. The Red Chris Mine in the Iskut-Stikine watershed received its Canadian permits last week to start mining gold and copper. This is a very controversial project partly because the mine’s operators, Imperial Metals, also operates B.C.’s Mount Polley Mine where a tailings damn broke last summer and released 25 million cubic meters of waste water and tailings into the water system during a sockeye migration. Here are two articles about Red Chris, one from British Columbia and one from Seattle: http://www.theprovince.com/business/government+approves+permits+controversial+Chris+Mine/11154069/story.html

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2015/06/19/company-in-canadian-environmental-disaster-opens-mine-on-alaska-bound-river/

KSM. A new report released on the huge KSM Mine (22 miles upstream of Misty Fiords/transboundary Unuk River) has serious doubts about the mine’s safety and economic benefits. Here’s a story about it: http://www.kfsk.org/2015/06/17/new-report-questions-ksm-mines-safety/ Download the 9-page report here: http://www.earthworksaction.org/files/publications/KSM-investor-risk-report_FINAL_copy.pdf. Here’s four KSM mine videos (an amazingly massive and involved project): http://ksmproject.com/project/project-videos/

BRUCEJACK GOLD. Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources officials recently commented on B.C.’s Brucejack Gold Project located 25 miles from Alaska near the KSM mine. In a June 11 letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency regarding the project’s draft environmental assessment, Deputy Commissioner Ed Fogels states, “Based on our participation throughout the environmental assessment process and our review of the DEAR [draft environmental assessment report], the State finds no basis on which to object to CEAA’s [Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency] conclusion that it is unlikely that any impacts from water quality degradation to fish and fish habitat will be observable. The State supports CEAA’s recommendation that water quality monitoring at the outlet of Brucejack Lake to Brucejack Creek be implemented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed water treatment process. In the event that the proposed water treatment process is not effective in preventing harm to Alaskan waters and fish habitat, the State reserves the right to take protective action to address the situation.” The whole letter should be posted on DNR’s website soon and I have a copy as well: http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/opmp/Canadian%20Mines/index.htm

Cynthia Wallesz