The government has given B.C. mines three months to conduct independent reviews of the state of their tailings facilities in the wake of the Mount Polley tailings pond breach that sent 10 million cubic metres of water gushing through the Cariboo region in early August.
B.C. Mining and Energy minister Bill Bennett announced August 18 the province is also ordering an independent inquiry into the disaster.
At least one proposed mine has had its environmental assessment put on hold by the Ministry of Environment, pending the outcome of the tailings pond reviews.
The Morrison copper-gold open pit mine proposed by Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. (TSX-V:PKB) near Smithers is currently in the midst of an environmental assessment. Following Bennett's announcement, however, the environment ministry announced it is suspending the assessment, pending the review.
The third-party review of 2014 dam safety inspections at each of the province’s 98 tailings ponds must be completed by December 1. Companies are not permitted to use their own in-house engineers to conduct the reviews.
The next deadline for the annual dam safety inspections was previously scheduled for March 31, 2015 and mining companies were not required to use a third-party firm to conduct the reviews.
But Bennett told reporters the deadline was moved up with the intention of restoring public confidence in the natural resources sector as quickly as possible.
But the mining and energy minister said he has not spoken to anyone in the industry who has a leading theory as to why the dam collapsed.
“This shocked everyone, especially the engineers who were responsible for the dam,” he said.
“This is the purpose of the independent investigation. We need to find out what happened.”
The independent panel includes University of B.C. mining professor Dirk Van Zyl, engineering consultant Norbert Morgenstern and geotechnical engineer Steven Vick, who helped investigate the levy failures in New Orleans following the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Van Zyl said the investigation would focus on technical matters and look at the changes that should be considered in the B.C. mining industry.
He added he’s confident the independent panel will have complete freedom to investigate every aspect of the Mount Polley disaster.
Imperial Metals (TSX:III), which owns the Mount Polley mine, must foot the bill for the independent investigation.
The panel is scheduled to submit its final report to the government by January 31, 2015.
Bennett said the Soda Creek and Williams Lake First Nations bands were consulted when it came to assembling the panel and the groups would share a panel liaison.
The Mount Polley disaster has brought into question the status of Imperial Metals’ Red Chris mine, which is also located in northern B.C.
The mine is scheduled to open in the fall but it has one permit outstanding.
Bennett said Imperial Metals has offered “to take a pause on that permit” and allow a person or company appointed by the region’s Tahltan First Nation band to assess the integrity of the Red Chris tailings dam.
