A small creek that meanders through the hills above Kamloops is increasingly polluted with mine effluent running from 50-million tonnes of waste rock around the old Ajax mine, a new report has found.

Pollution from substances such as arsenic, selenium and molybdenum mean the water in Peterson Creek exceeds B.C.’s Water Quality Guidelines, but monitoring of the contamination is “woefully inadequate and ambiguous” according to the report by hydrogeologist Kevin Morin of the Minesite Drainage Assessment Group.

The report concludes outdated and deficient permit requirements lead to wrong interpretations and conclusions and “do not explain the dramatic increasing contamination of Peterson Creek by minesite-derived elements.”

Kamloops Area Preservation Society, which commissioned the report, has sent a lawyer’s letter to the province asking that measurements of creek flows and chemistry be changed from twice a year to monthly and saying surrounding monitor wells should be included in the testing. There will be no ministry response until after the election.

Peterson Creek and the nearby aquifer serve as a water source for the Knutsford Knoll development, Kamloops RV Campground and several homes. The water is also used by ranchers and wildlife and Peterson Creek Park is a popular recreation site.

The permit for measuring pollution is held by KGHM Ajax Mining Inc., which attempted to reopen and expand the mine, but the plan was denied an environmental certificate by the provincial government in 2017 and rejected by the federal government in 2018 after reviews concluded the $1.3-billion project would cause significant adverse environmental effects and would affect Indigenous land usage.

The plan for a massive open pit mine, close to homes, with a dam sitting above the city, was fiercely opposed by many Kamloops residents and was rejected by the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation and the municipality.

Coincidentally, the Peterson Creek pollution report was released as KGHM partner, Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp., announced that KGHM has hired a new Ajax superintendent for the area. According to a statement from Abacus, the company will be consulting with First Nations and the community in an effort to revive the project.

The pollution in Peterson Creek is running from waste created both historically and between 1989 and 1997 when a subsidiary of Teck Resources mined copper, gold and silver.

Morin found that contaminated water from the mine waste is entering the aquifer and continuing into Peterson Creek, which runs into the Thompson River, and monthly measurements, monitoring and analysis is needed. The water should be compared with water quality guidelines for drinking, irrigation, wildlife and aquatic life, he recommended.

Concentrations of contamination in the creek above the mine site are low, but, downstream from the mine, concentrations rise dramatically, meaning the water should not be drunk or used for irrigation and could harm aquatic and wildlife.

Kamloops Area Preservation Society spokesperson Paula Pick said everyone in the area should be concerned about the increasing pollution “but especially people directly using water from the creek and its aquifer.”

Jill Calder of Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment Society echoed the concerns, especially as the nearest home is only about 1,200 metres from the mine site.

Plans are also underway to build a new subdivision, with up to 1,600 new homes, close to the site.

“I’m concerned that these particular substances — all the long list of by-products from the tailings ponds — are known to cause health hazard risks,” Calder told The Narwhal.

The toxic remnants of mining operations and unsafe tailings ponds are a growing concern, not only in Kamloops, but around the world, Calder said.

“There’s a lot of concern the mines responsible for them do not have the financial solvency to do an exit plan in the way they proposed to decommission the mine,” she said.

Don Barz, member of the Kamloops Area Preservation Society, who lives about four kilometres from the mine site, is not surprised that Morin found mine waste polluting Peterson Creek.

“Perhaps this is the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

“We want to see more monitoring because the information we do have is data that the mining company has had to (produce) and based on what their sampling results show there are high levels of toxic elements … We need to have a better scientific understanding of what is going on up there so we can better assess the impacts on aquatic life,” he told The Narwhal.

Peterson Creek is small, but it is critical for wildlife as, during the summer when water sources dry up, there are no other creeks in the area, Barz said.

“For wildlife this is it, so if it gets polluted, it has a big localized impact and, because it is such a small creek there is very little dilution,” he said.

Carman-Anne Schulz of the Sagebrush Neighbourhood Association said 10 years work has gone into removing garbage and invasive weeds from Peterson Creek Park.

“It is shocking to learn that the creek is being polluted by the Ajax mine,” she said.

Morin said in an interview that problems with monitoring stretch back to the 1970s when the effect of mine waste on the aquifer was not considered even though most pollution from groundwater travels underground rather than on the surface water.

“It’s only about four years ago that British Columbia finally came up with groundwater protection regulations. That was the first time groundwater was recognized as a resource like trees, air and surface water,” Morin said.

“The old attitude was out-of-sight, out-of-mind. You can contaminate it, but just let it go into the ground and that was what the original permit was saying in 1976,” he said.

That permit allowed 25 cubic metres a day to go into the ground, without any checks on the quantity or quality, Morin said.

The permit has been amended several times, but now needs to be scrapped and rewritten, he said.

“It’s like sewing an old, favourite piece of clothing. After a while, the patches are going to break down and it just doesn’t work any more,” he said.

Morin predicts that, once the election is over, the ministry is likely to prioritize rewriting the permit.

“I think that, now they have hydrogeologists and a groundwater protection regulation, the ministry will look at this and say ‘wow, this permit has to be rewritten from scratch because it really doesn’t do what it has to do,’ ” he said.

The first step is to gather information and figure out the severity of the contamination and where it is going, Morin said, who expects that further action will then be necessary.

“One example would be to put in pump wells between the old mine site and the creek and then pump the water so you are pumping the contaminated water out of the ground, out of the aquifer and keep it from getting into the creek and they would then have to send it to a treatment plant,” Morin said.

“But, before the Environment Ministry could say ‘you have to do something’ they have to have the evidence and the permit does not give them the evidence that they need,” he said.

The Peterson Creek contamination illustrates the need for B.C. to beef up its mining regulations, said Ugo Lapointe of Mining Watch Canada.

“This is clearly another example of why B.C. should strengthen its mining laws and oversight to ensure mine waste dumps do not put communities and watersheds at risk and make sure mining companies pay to clean up their mess. Right now, they don’t,” Lapointe said.

The NDP government has moved to tighten up the Mines Act, but there is still a shortfall of at least $1.2 billion between what it will cost to clean up mine sites and security held by the province.

Nikki Skuce, director of Northern Confluence, said the B.C. Mining Law Reform Network is advocating for full bonding for mine reclamation within the first three years of operation.

“However, the Ajax mine never got operating, so nothing’s been collected for that site,” Skuce said.

B.C. still does not have legislation to ensure the polluter pays although, technically, the Chief Inspector of Mines can use the reclamation bond to have a high risk issue dealt with immediately, Skuce said.

“But, again, that probably doesn’t apply to an old site and a proposed mine where no bond or financial assurances exist,” she said.

In its election platform released this week, the B.C. NDP stated it would make “polluters pay for cleanup of abandoned projects.”

The province was aware in November 2019, from data filed by the company, that KGHM was out of compliance with the permit, but it is not known whether any action was taken.

“Too often, permit conditions are amended so that companies are then in compliance … versus forcing the company into compliance with the original conditions,” Skuce said.

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The proposed Ajax mine, a 1,700-hectare open-pit gold and copper mine near Kamloops, B.C., was denied a provincial environmental certificate from the B.C. government Thursday.

Environment Minister George Heyman and Minister of Energy and Mines, Michelle Mungall, found the benefits of the 18-year project, which has received vocal opposition from local communities and First Nations, do not outweigh its significant, adverse effects.

“This project was subject to a great deal of scrutiny and discussion over seven years,” Heyman told reporters in a press briefing, noting the federal government has yet to issue its final decision on the project.

“No matter what they decision by the federal government, this project would require a provincial certificate to go ahead. Our decision is to not issue one.”

Not a Matter of Indigenous Veto: Heyman

Polish firm KGHM Polska Miedz first proposed Ajax in 2011 on the traditional territory of the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwépemc First Nation (SSN).

The mine’s proximity to Kamloops, adverse impacts on First Nations land uses, impacts on communities and property values, proximity to schools, affects on air quality were all considered in the decision, Heyman said.

“Those were all factors and they were compounding,” he said, adding, “many of which we believed were of high to moderate impact magnitude and could not be mitigated.”

In 2015 the SSN filed an Aboriginal title claim to the land with the B.C. Supreme Court and in 2017 the nation announced it would not give the province its free, prior and informed consent for the project, saying the mine’s location is in opposition to land use plans for the “profoundly sacred, culturally important, and historically significant cultural keystone site.”

“We Secwepemc have never ceded or surrendered our rights or title,” Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc Chief Fred Seymour said in a statement.

”The British Columbian Government, in choosing to refuse KGHM Ajax’s environmental assessment, are enacting their commitment to uphold the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights and to implement the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” Seymour said.

Minister Heyman was quick to clarify the government’s rejection of the mine did not constitute an Indigenous veto of the project.

“I would not say this decision paves the way for vetoes or even that, were this decision made solely on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which it wasn’t, that it constituted a veto,” the minister said.

“We are willing to partner with Indigenous nations to see how we incorporate those principles,” he added. “Detailed consultation is important, accommodation and mitigation is important.”

Ajax Mine Subject to Historic Indigenous-Led Assessment

Plans for the mine included the destruction of Jacko Lake and the Pípsell Cultural and Heritage Area, a part of the SSN’s ancestral lands giving rise to the oral story the ‘Trout Children.’

Under the previous federal government, the Ajax mine was exempted from a full review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and subjected to a less rigorous Comprehensive Study.

The SSN’s request for a federal Independent Review Panel to consider the project was rejected in 2015, leading the nation to initiate what is considered a historical indigenous-led assessment of the mine, based in traditional law, customs and practices.

The assessment concluded the mine would negatively impact the air and water quality of the region and irreversibly affect Pípsell culture and heritage. The B.C. government’s assessment released today follows suit.

Minister Heyman said the SSN assessment did inform B.C.’s own assessment of the mine, and vice versa.

“We tried to conduct the assessment in concert with the SSN and ensure the joint federal-provincial and SSN reports informed each other’s work.”

Jacinda Mack from the Secwepemc and Nuxalk nations and coordinator for First Nations Women Advocating for Responsible Mining, said the indigenous-informed environmental assessment championed by the SSN is an important example for B.C. to follow.

“It’s important to follow Indigenous leadership and reconciliation with land and peoples,” Mack told DeSmog Canada.

“The SSN assessment was innovative and inclusive and was supported by a lot of people in Kamloops who did not support the Ajax mine going ahead.”

Mack said the indigenous-led assessment should be used as a model to improve both the federal and provincial environmental assessment processes going forward.

Nikki Skuce, director of Northern Confluence, agreed, saying the final B.C. assessment came to many of the same conclusions as the SSN report.

“Today’s decision…provides some hope that the commitment to revitalizing B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Act will incorporate UNDRIP, sustainability principles and community input,” Skuce told DeSmog Canada.

Ajax Mine Beset with Environmental Assessment Woes

The Ajax mine, which has often been characterized as ‘too big and too close’ to the city of Kamloops with a population of 90,000, has received staunch criticism for its inadequate and rushed environmental assessment process.

This past July Kamloops city councillor Dan Walsh penned a letter to provincial and federal assessment agencies, expressing concern with the legitimacy and independence of the review.

“It’s a flawed process and the deck is stacked in favour of proponents,” Walsh then told DeSmog Canada.

Walsh said the process failed to allow municipalities any control in the decision-making process. He added the Ajax mine proposal was being considered despite a failure to eliminate new tailings pond dams as recommended following the Mount Polley disaster.

Changes also hadn’t been made to separate monitoring and enforcement activities from the Energy and Mines Ministry as recommended by the Auditor General, Walsh said.

Minister Heyman’s mandate involves revitalizing B.C.’s environmental assessment process.

Speaking with reporters today, Heyman said it’s not government’s desire to reject a project seven years into the assessment process.

“Obviously we want a new environmental assessment process that respects the legal rights of First Nations as well as our commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Tsilhqot’in decision and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” Heyman said.

He added it is imperative for government to enhance the public’s confidence in the process and “encourage proponents to work from the beginning with First Nations.”

“We want to look at identifying key factors that will go into our decision-making so we can understand if a project has a good chance of success…and where a project will require significant measures before it has a chance of being approved.”

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A group of Kamloops city councilors are asking the provincial and federal governments to consider concerns about the Ajax Mine they say were unaddressed by B.C.’s environmental assessment.  

The proposal for the gold and copper mine by the Polish firm KGHM Polska Miedz has been controversial, with concerns including mining dust, air quality impacts, tailings pond management, slope stability and watershed safety.

“We feel our concerns as a city, as councilors and staff, have been completely ignored and it feels like the Environmental Assessment Office has been in bed with KGHM,” Kamloops city councilor Tina Lange told DeSmog Canada.

City council has voted to send an itemized list of concerns to elected officials before the final project decision is made.

“I’m pro mining. I’m pro resource development,” Lange said. “But this project doesn’t make sense. It’s too big and too close to the city and we felt like our concerns were not heard by the Environmental Assessment Office.”

“It was as if they were helping the mine tailor-make an application that the EA branch could rubber stamp.”

The province is expected to make a decision on the project this fall.

Environmental Assessment Delayed By Public Comments

Last fall KGHM asked the federal and provincial governments to put the review process on pause so the company could respond to the more than 2,000 comments submitted by the city, members of the public, local First Nations and the province.

The Environmental Assessment Office agreed to delay the 180-day review time frame until the company could respond to the comments.

Community members and city councilors expressed concern that the three-kilometre wide open-pit mine, which will be in operation for up to 23 years a mere two kilometres from local homes, will significantly affect local air quality.

Kamloops, which is situated in a natural valley, has been home to some of the worst air quality in the world lately, due to smoke from B.C.’s forest fires, Lange said.

ICYMI: The Mine Next Door, Ajax Mine Series

Major concerns about water quality were also raised, with locals saying KGHM did not give an adequate account of how toxic runoff from the mine’s waste rock would be prevented from leaching into local waterways.

In addition, residents took issue with the project’s tailings pond facility that sits perched above residential areas.

Now, with the release of a 460-page joint provincial-federal assessment report, Kamloops representatives feel much of their involvement wasn’t worth the time.

Kamloops City Council Urge B.C., Ottawa to Re-Think #AjaxMine Environmental Assessment https://t.co/HVaY6Evnt8 #bcpoli #cdnpoli

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) August 18, 2017

City Councilor Asks for Total Suspension of Ajax Review Process

While the Kamloops city council voted early this week to send their list of concerns to elected officials, one councilor felt the plan didn’t go far enough.

Voting against the plan was councilor Dennis Walsh, a long-time opponent of the Ajax mine and vocal advocate for local First Nations.

ICYMI: Kamloops Councillor Claims Ajax Open-Pit Mine Application Violates Canadian Charter

Walsh introduced a new motion asking the leaders of B.C.’s three main political parties to suspend the environmental assessment process. He cited indigenous rights, environmental risks and municipal decision-making authority in his bid.

"It's important that as a community we stick together on these issues," Walsh told Infotel.ca. "It's been made very clear on council and with (the Nation) that this mine will have a very harming risk and adverse effect on the community."

Walsh also proposed an additional motion to support the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation in its fight against the project, which is proposed on the nation’s unceded traditional territory.

Image: Location of the proposed Ajax mine. Photo: KGHM

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One of the first controversies likely to land on the desk of newly minted Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Michelle Mungall is what to do about the proposed massive Ajax gold and copper mine on the outskirts of Kamloops that is opposed by Kamloops city council and the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation.

“I think this will be one of their first tests and it will be interesting to see how a new government will handle it,” said Councillor Denis Walsh, a vocal opponent of the proposed mine.

“With the change in government, I am optimistic that we will at least get a fair hearing from the minister. . . . (Former mines minister) Bill Bennett and Michelle Mungall are two different characters and I am optimistic about at least having a meeting with her to express our concerns and her listening to us,” Walsh said.

Debate over the Ajax mine has seethed in Kamloops since the initial proposal, almost seven years ago, by Polish mining company KGHM Polska Miedz for a massive open-pit mine less than two kilometres from homes, with a tailings pond and dam sitting above a city of more than 90,000 people.

Supporters of the $1.3-billion project have pointed to the 500 well-paying, full-time jobs that the mine would create, rising to about 1,800 jobs during construction, and a community benefits agreement worth $3.8 million a year.

But opponents say the mine — which would be three kilometres long and one-and-a-half kilometres wide — is too big and too close.

Rendering of the Ajax mine. Image: KAPA

Concerns include dust, vibration from blasting, slope stability and the safety of water supplies. In the wake of the 2014 Mount Polley tailings pond collapse, many are also uneasy about the proximity of the tailings pond, uphill from homes and schools.

“I totally believe that the worst thing that could happen to Kamloops would be that mine,” Walsh said.

That opposition gained steam this week when city council voted twice to draft a letter to senior levels of government saying council is not in favour of the mine being built on its southern border.

The first vote, Monday evening, at a special council meeting, tied the letter of opposition to the question of whether to continue talking to the provincial Environmental Assessment Office and the result was four to two in favour. The second vote on Tuesday separated the two issues and the vote was 5-1 in favour of making the city’s opposition clear to the federal and provincial governments.

The decision on whether the mine is approved will rest with both senior levels of government and the provincial EAO is expected to make a recommendation to the ministry this fall.

By-elections for two empty council seats and the mayor’s chair will be held Sept 30, but, by then, the EAO process will have been completed, so it is unlikely to be an election issue, Walsh said.

The main concern of councillors was the health and wellbeing of residents, said Walsh, adding that the proposal is fraught with uncertainties and risks.

Acting Mayor Arjun Singh, speaking at the council meeting, said the positives are far outweighed by the negative health impacts.

In addition, it has been a sore point that the previous BC Liberal government was not willing to make accommodation for problems likely to arise with B.C.’s first urban mine, even though the concerns are very different from those created by a mine in the middle of nowhere, Walsh said.

Earlier this year, after an exhaustive review of the project, the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation (SSN) announced its opposition to Ajax and said “free, prior and informed consent” would be withheld.

The mine would include development around Jacko Lake, known as Pipsell by indigenous communities, an area that is profoundly sacred and culturally important to the SSN.

Known as Pipsell to the Secwepemc people, Jacko Lake is the site of “The Trout Children” story from local First Nations oral history. Photo: Carol Linnitt|DeSmog Canada

When the SSN decision was announced, Chief Fred Seymour of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, said it was necessary to oppose the project for the sake of the health of the community.

“For our two communities, united through SSN, it does not make sense to sacrifice for all time all that we have in Pipsell to obtain limited benefits which will last for only 25 years,” Seymour said.

“Many impacts were not, and cannot be, monetized, including the adverse impacts on our cultural heritage as well as impacts on the environment,” he said.

The decision was supported by 30 organizations ranging from the David Suzuki Foundation and Sierra Club B.C. to MiningWatch Canada and Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment. The assessment process has raised the ire of many mine opponents and Walsh also wants to see a complete overhaul of “unacceptable, obsolete and unfair” provincial mining regulations.

In a letter written to the NDP, Green and BC Liberal leaders, Walsh asked for the Ajax permitting process to be halted until the province undertakes a judicial review of mining regulations, followed by the necessary reforms.

The four major concerns Walsh sets out in the letter are failure to respect First Nations rights, failure to allow municipalities any control, failure to eliminate new tailings pond dams as recommended following the Mount Polley disaster and failure to separate monitoring and enforcement activities from the Energy and Mines Ministry as recommended by the auditor general.

#Kamloops Council, First Nations Ask BC to Suspend Controversial #AjaxMine Proposal https://t.co/a2yJxNmbxP #bcpoli @Stkemlups_SSN

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) July 19, 2017

Walsh noted that he is not alone in wanting to see changes in mining regulations and pointed out that a report from the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre said “the ramshackle regulatory system governing B.C.’s mining industry is profoundly dysfunctional” and that an Amnesty International report found the Mount Polley disaster raises serious questions about the province’s ability to protect British Columbians.

“It’s a flawed process and the deck is stacked in favour of proponents,” said Walsh, who has not yet received any replies to his letter.

Image: Location of the proposed Ajax mine. Photo: KGHM

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B.C. was recently labelled the “Wild West” in a New York Times article for our lack of financial rules or limits around political donations. While mining companies and their executives regularly fall within the top donors’ list to the B.C. Liberal Party, they have benefited from this notion of the Wild West for well over a century. 

In fact, B.C.’s mining laws were created more than 150 years ago during the gold-rush era of the 1850s. These laws were largely created by miners themselves to help guarantee unfettered access to new lands by creating the right of “free entry,” and were part of the strategy to help settle the colony. Today, mining activity is still given priority over virtually all other land uses in B.C.

In fact, the process for staking a claim has only gotten easier. Are you 18 years old, have $25 and access to a computer? Click and you have a claim staked anywhere — on private property, First Nations hunting grounds, key tourism areas, important salmon habitat or wildlife management areas. Mining activities are off-limits only in parks, under buildings and at certain archeological sites. In other words, mining exploration can take place in over 82 per cent of the province.

This is the core of the problem. The right of free entry hasn’t evolved with environmental and societal norms. Mining gets a free pass from zoning bylaws and land-use plans that apply to other sectors. Until we change the free-entry system and stop giving privilege to the mining industry, we will see conflict.

A farming family learned the hard way when their property just outside of Kamloops was staked and they could do nothing to stop their property from turning into a strip-mine for kitty litter. Despite the family’s ownership of the land, they are indefinitely excluded from entering, using, occupying or enjoying their property while it’s being mined and received a mere $60,000 in compensation.

The municipal government, First Nations and several community groups in Kamloops have expressed concern about the proposed Ajax mine within the municipal boundaries. Community members are predominantly concerned about health and water-quality issues, but B.C.’s Mineral Tenure Act provides no power for local governments to prevent mineral claims from being staked, mining leases from being granted or to stop a mine from being developed within city limits.

Similarly, proponents aren’t required to engage with First Nations before staking a claim or entering the land. The B.C. government has taken the position that the staking of mineral claims doesn’t trigger a constitutional duty to consult. The result is a number of conflicts and multiple policies as First Nations push back and demand otherwise. Ironically, this has led the Association of Mineral Exploration for B.C. lobbying for tax credits at both the federal and provincial levels (of which they enjoy many) to now cover costs incurred from “engaging with aboriginal communities.”

In 2017, the rules and regulations stemming from the beginnings of the “Wild West” no longer work. We need to establish common-sense restrictions on where mineral claims and mining leases are allowed. Establishing certain areas, such as key salmon habitat, as no-go zones for mining will go a long way to avoid opposition from First Nations and local communities.

The Association of Mineral Exploration for B.C. is gathering in Vancouver this week and lobbying for more and easier access to public lands. But increasing limits and an end to free-entry legislation will be what substantially reduces risks to the industry. Ensuring First Nations, private landowners and the public have a more meaningful role in decisions about mineral tenure has the potential to bring more balance to land-use decisions and increase the likelihood that future mining projects are located in places, and carried out in a manner, that have the social licence to proceed. It’s time for B.C.’s outdated laws to go.

Nikki Skuce is director of Northern Confluence, an initiative based out of Smithers that aims to improve land-use decisions in B.C.’s salmon watersheds. 

Image: Coal mining in B.C.'s Flathead Valley. Photo: Garth Lenz, used with permission

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Just over a hill, beyond the rolling grasslands that flank Kamloops, there’s a looming problem that could upend the lifestyle of neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city and, after years of debate about whether a massive open-pit mine would be a good neighbour, one city councillor is appealing to the provincial government to suspend the process, claiming it might violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The proposal for a gold and copper mine less than three kilometres from a school and even closer to homes, with a tailings pond and dam sitting above a city of 90,000 people, has divided Kamloops residents and city council since an application for the Ajax mine was made by Polish mining company KGHM Polska Miedz more than six years ago.

Many of those living closest to the planned urban mine worry about the proximity of the tailings pond — a concern exacerbated by the disastrous 2014 Mount Polley tailings pond breach — and believe that, despite promised mitigation measures, toxic dust will be carried by prevailing winds that blow from the direction of the mine over their homes and that slope stability and watersheds could be affected.

The mine is too close and too big, said several residents of the nearest neighbourhood.

“We live just underneath the hill and the footprint of the mine is going to be so huge,” said Helen Newmarch, who has lived in the Aberdeen subdivision for almost 30 years.

“It’s not just the pit, it’s the immense tailings pond. It’s right on top of the Pearson Creek aquifer, which runs into the Thompson River,” said Newmarch, who chairs the Aberdeen Neighbourhood Association.

Site of the proposed Ajax Mine. Photo: Carol Linnitt/DeSmog Canada

The Thompson is on the migratory route of the legendary Adams River sockeye salmon run.

On the opposite side are Ajax supporters who point to the prospect of 500 well-paying, full-time jobs, 1,800 temporary jobs during construction, an estimated $84-million in annual tax revenue and continued company financial support for community activities.

The two viewpoints are reflected in the makeup of council with four members adamantly opposed to the mine and four councillors and Mayor Peter Milobar taking a wait-and-see attitude until KGHM responds to concerns.

The company made changes to its plans following the public input phase of the Environmental Assessment process and then asked the provincial government to put the provincial and federal Environmental Assessment process on hold to allow time for KGHM to respond to more than 2,000 questions raised by the public, First Nations and the province.

The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office will not restart the 180-day review time frame until it has been determined that the company has provided adequate responses.

Kamloops has a history of mining — although no other mines are as close to the city as the KGHM proposal — and, according to Mayor Peter Milobar the discussion centres on whether it’s an appropriate location for a mine rather than a classic industry versus environment battle.

“The proximity is pretty daunting,” said Randy Sunderman, whose Aberdeen neighbourhood home is about 2.4 kilometres from the mine site.

“It’s not only close, but it’s on the top of the hill so our first concern is around slope stability, we have a lot of underground streams around here.”

Proposed layout of the Ajax Mine. Image: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

The mine is going to be three kilometres long and one-and-a-half kilometres wide so there is likely to be constant vibration from blasting, Sunderman said.

“There is a lot of concern about how this is going to affect property values.”

However, yea-or-nay power lies with the federal and provincial governments, which is why, if the project is approved, the city wants a community benefits agreement with the company, possibly written into the permit.

“We are working with KGHM on what an agreement would look like if they were to get permitted and what sort of commitments they are willing to make to the community,” Milobar said.

But, Councillor Denis Walsh, one of the opponents, wants a stronger approach and has unilaterally written to Premier Christy Clark asking her to suspend the permitting process, claiming that fundamental flaws “may well constitute an abuse of fair process contrary to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Walsh said plans to build a massive tailings pond above the city violate principles of natural justice.

“This is a direct threat to the lives and security of the persons living below,” he wrote.

“I remind you of the catastrophic failure of the Mount Polley tailings pond dam two years ago and point out that the proposed Ajax mine tailings pond is to be approximately five times larger than Mount Polley, even with proposed adjustments for thickened tailings and reduced water content. We can only imagine the dire consequences had there been a city of 90,000 residents just below Mount Polley dam.”

Walsh also criticized the province for ignoring the recommendation of Auditor General Carol Bellringer to separate mine oversight from the ministry that issues permits and wrote “the ability of the mines and environment ministries to monitor and enforce safe mining practices is a proven failure that must be corrected and for you to arbitrarily continue to ignore this reality is an abuse of fair process with the very large potential to harm Kamloops residents.”

Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett did not respond to DeSmog Canada’s questions about the process or timeframe.

For First Nations in the area, concerns are cultural as well as practical and the Skeetchestn and Tk’emlups bands, members of the Shuswap (Secwepemc) Nation Tribal Council, have undertaken their own assessment of the project.

The mine would be built on unceded traditional territory, said band spokesmen.

Known as Pipsell to the Secwepemc people, Jacko Lake is the site of "The Trout Children" story from local First Nations oral history. Photo: Carol Linnitt

“We are hoping by December to have a position to take forward to the provincial and federal ministers on where we stand in relation to the Ajax mine,” said Skeetchestn Chief Ron Ignace.

As in the larger community, there are differing viewpoints, but Ignace said community members have serious concerns, such as air pollution, the loss of grassland when there is only one per cent of the grassland ecosystem left, and the amount of water the mine would use.

“That one mine would use the same amount of water that the City of Kamloops uses,” he said.

Last year Skeetchestn and Tk’emlups filed a rights and title claim in B.C. Supreme Court to Jacko Lake and the surrounding area, part of the proposed mine site.

“We called upon the federal and provincial governments to do a declaration of title and both refused, so we have done our own declaration of title to force the governments to deal with us more seriously,” Ignace said.

#Kamloops Councillor Claims Ajax Open-Pit Mine Application Violates Canadian Charter https://t.co/C4JfWSHns1 #bcpoli #cdnpoli @LavoieJudith

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) October 12, 2016

To add weight to their case, some band members are hoping to meet with the Polish government, which holds a 32 per cent stake in KGHM, to remind them that Poland signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“We are calling on them to respect the requirement of free, prior and informed consent regarding any decision around Jacko Lake,” Ignace said.

Jacko Lake, known as Pipsell to the Secwepemc people, is the site of the First Nations oral history story known as “The Trout Children” which sets out the need for protocol and stewardship of the land.

Meanwhile, mine opponents such as Newmarch and Walsh are concentrating on B.C. politicians.

However, it is difficult to get their attention and it is getting more complicated with a provincial election brewing, especially as Mayor Milobar is in the running for a Liberal nomination, Newmarch said.

“It is really hard to say with any confidence where our government stands on this,” she said.

KGHM donated $57,000 to the Liberals and $800 to the NDP between March 2013 and November 2015.

Walsh wants all governments to act on the precautionary principle and, if necessary, enshrine best practices in the permit.

“This is so unique. It’s the first urban mine in B.C. and we need to have safeguards,” he said.

“I can’t see this being decided before the election.”

Image: KGHM Old Afton mine via KGHM website

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Well, the disclosure statements are in and we now know (sort of) how much was spent trying to sway voters during B.C.’s local elections in November.

In addition to disclosures on how much candidates spent during the elections, there are also filings for more than 100 organizations registered with Elections BC as third-party sponsors. This is the first time third parties have been forced to register with Elections BC and report their spending — and at least two resource companies are in the mix.

Big third-party advertisers include Woodfibre LNG, which spent $18,248 on newspaper and radio ads in Squamish, where the company is proposing a liquefied natural gas export terminal. The company spent 17 times what it would be allowed to spend per capita during a provincial election, according to analysis by Integrity BC — a non-profit organization that campaigns to reform B.C.’s electoral finance.

That’s because B.C. still has no limits on spending during local elections — despite a task force recommending limits be implemented back in 2010.

Integrity BC’s Dermod Travis notes that all that spending didn’t work out so well for Woodfibre LNG. Patricia Heintzman won the mayor's chair with a spend of $11,842, defeating the more LNG-friendly incumbent Rob Kirkham.

KGHM Spends $8,600 on Ajax Mine Letter

Meanwhile in Kamloops, KGHM International spent $8,605 on a mailing about its proposed Ajax Mine — an open-pit copper and gold mine proposed within Kamloops city limits. The company writes in a post on its website that the letter was sent to a “group of Ajax supporters.” The letter included a list of all candidates running for Kamloops city council and listed their public positions on the Ajax mine.

“At a cost of $8,605 that was either one very large group or one very long letter,” Travis notes. “Didn't work out so well for the mine either when the results came in.”

Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Spending Remains a Mystery

As is often the case, the biggest story may be in what we don't know.

In October, Elections BC ruled that Kinder Morgan didn’t need to register as a third-party sponsor despite launching a major advertising offensive about its proposed Trans Mountain oilsands pipeline to Burnaby during the election. Due to that ruling, Kinder Morgan’s spending during the election will forever remain a mystery.

Photo: My Sea to Sky

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As we pull up to the mouth of the Hazeltine Creek, where billions of litres of mining waste from the Imperial Metals Mount Polley mine spilled into Quesnel Lake on August 4th, I’m thinking to myself what numerous locals have recently said to me: this shouldn’t have happened.

All of the warning signs were present that the waste pit for the mine was overburdened: employees raised the alarm, government citations were issued, engineering reports contained warnings.

It shouldn’t have happened, and yet it did.

And now local residents and First Nations will shoulder the full, long-term burden of the accident on the environment, the significance of which won’t be truly know for decades to come.

If you visit the town of Likely, B.C. (which you should because the entire region, much of it unaffected by the spill, is stunning and the locals beyond hospitable) you’ll hear a lot of support for the mining industry, but a growing frustration over irresponsible management and lack of oversight.

British Columbians should know, however, that less oversight and regulation is exactly what is being promised to the extractive industry at both the provincial and federal level.

In June Christy Clark recently congratulated Bill Bennett, B.C.’s minister of energy and mines, for ridding industry of ”red tape” surrounding new mining projects. According to a mandate letter, over the next year Bennett is expected to “encourage mine development across the province” and work with the Ministry of Finance to extend new mining allowances.

Bennett is also expected to “support the development of new mines and major mine expansions by working with industry…to ensure that BC’s mines permitting process is the best in Canada.”

Nowhere are more strident environmental standards, best practices, addressing community concerns or responsible development mentioned in the minister’s mandate.

On the federal level changes made to Canada’s environmental legislation in the infamous Omnibus Budget Bill C-38 also pave the way for less regulatory oversight as well as fewer and less-robust environmental assessments before projects are built or expanded.

Omnibus Budget Bill C-45, released soon after C-38, made massive changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act, effectively removing 99.7 per cent of Canada’s lakes and 99.9 per cent of Canada’s rivers from federal environmental oversight.

The new legislation also makes it very difficult for citizens to participate in hearings (if hearings are even open to the public, which isn’t the case for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion) where their testimonies can play a role in discussing the feasibility and desirability of a project in a specific area.

Under the new laws permits, like the ones Imperial Metals was obliged to obtain in order to expand mining operations at Mount Polley, can be approved without an environmental assessment. New mining projects and expansions are now positioned to occur without due scientific and environmental review or public input.

That means local residents will have less information and less say in the decision-making process about projects that stand to affect them the most.

The city of Kamloops is currently fighting the proposed Ajax mine, a mega gold and copper mine that would not only operate a massive tailings facility mere kilometres from the Coquihalla Highway but would be built directly on top of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline.

An accident of the scale at Mount Polley would be catastrophic so close to the city limits of Kamloops, the tournament capital of B.C.

In B.C.’s 2012 Mining Strategy, Christy Clark said the province is on track to meet its Jobs Plan target of opening eight new mines and expanding nine others by 2015.

The promise of expanded mining in this province is being made before appropriate public consultation and environmental safety reviews, not to mention adequate First Nations consent.

The push for industrial development appears top priority, no matter what the social and environmental costs.

Similarly the province is pushing for new oil pipelines and LNG projects that communities have explicitly fought to prevent or, in some cases, voted against.

The residents of Likely, just like many other British Columbians, have high expectations for both government and industry. But with the collapse of the tailings pond wall has come a collapse of trust, something I hope our provincial government and Imperial Metals will work overtime to rebuild.

If the breach of the Mount Polley tailings pond can bring anything into sharper relief for British Columbians, it is that our relationship with industry in this province is heading in the wrong direction.

If we want to avoid the caution tape, we’re going to have to rethink our perspective on red tape.

Industry needs productive, safe and enabling parameters to work within and British Columbians deserve to rest assured that our business leaders and elected representatives are engineering those limits right – with a foundation much stronger than that of the Mount Polley tailings pond.

Image Credit: Imperial Metals' Mount Polley Mine. Photo by Carol Linnitt.

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Part 4 of the series The Mine Next Door, an in-depth look at the proposed Ajax mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. Read Part 1 of this series: KGHM Open-Pit Mine Proposal Within Kamloops City Limits, Part 2: The Price of the Ajax Mine and Part 3: An Interview with Ryan Day of Secwépemc Nation.

“Kamloops Moms for Clean Air is not just a group for moms, we are for anyone who cares about clean air, healthy lungs, and preserving the freedom we have to run outside anytime we want, to breathe deeply while doing all the things we love to do outdoors,” said Gina Morris from Kamloops Moms for Clean Air at an event they organized to educate Kamloopians about the possible risks the KGHM Ajax Mine may cause in terms of air pollution.

As Kamloops faces the complicated decision of whether or not to welcome the Ajax open-pit gold and copper mine, public health is possibly the most pressing issue. Mining operations are expected to take place within less than 2 kilometres of schools, hospitals and residential areas. Since open-pit mines are known to produce harmful particulate dust and affect water supplies, many local health professionals and preservation societies are concerned that Ajax will compromise the air and water quality of Kamloops.

In an interview with DeSmog, KGHM acknowledged the public health concerns associated with open pit mines. The company purports to operate under a “Zero Harm” policy, which pertains to safety concerns for both humans and the environment. KGHM community affairs specialist Robin Bartlett explained Zero Harm “means we do everything possible to ensure health and safety” of surrounding communities and the environment.[view:in_this_series=block_1]

“Mining knowledge and technology,” she said, “have improved tremendously. Reclamation of former mining areas allows land to be used for many things including: wildlife habit, recreational uses and cattle grazing.”

KGHM failed to explain how their Zero Harm mandate would extend to maintaining Kamloops’ air quality. Instead they highlighted the successes of current and past mining projects with regards to water usage. “Our record with other mines in North and South America reflects Zero Harm practices,” Bartlett told DeSmog. “At our Carlota Mine in Arizona, which is soon scheduled to close, all aspects of operation were managed with closure and 'doing no harm' in mind."

The Carlota mine has been a “zero discharge operation.” All water that comes into contact with the mine is held within the property and reused for dust control and mine processes. The project's "disturbed" water is prevented from leaving the property and re-entering the water cycle.

"We purchased locally impacted water for use in our operations, partially replacing the need to use freshwater. We transported agave plants from disturbed areas to safer locations in collaboration with the Forest Service of Arizona.”

The amount of water needed to run the Carlota Mine, however, is substantial. According to the Arizona newspaper, The Green Valley News, “On a daily basis, Carlota uses 590 gallons of water per minute.” The water used in mining procedures is exposed to chemical processing like sulphuric leeching, where acidic water is pumped through ore piles to leach copper from the rock. 

According to the same newspaper, the Carlota Mine uses water from wells located in Haunted Canyon but, because of reduced flows, the U.S. Forest Service required KGHM to return some of the extracted water. 

According to the current published plans for Ajax, project water will be sourced from "Inks Lake, storm water catchment ponds and Kamloops Lake." The company plans to "recycle water from the process, thus reducing the water draw to about half of that, depending on the time of year.”

In addition to water contamination and use, air quality is the major health concern for many medical professionals in Kamloops. Last week, Dr. Jill Calder spoke at Kamloops’ Thompson Rivers University (TRU) on the subject of the risks associated with the current plans for the location of the Ajax mine. She is part of the newly formed group, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

During her talk, Calder gave a run-down of the mine's plans, showing the geographic difficulties Kamloops may face when it comes to air pollution. She suggests certain air patterns – mostly inversions and katabatic winds, set to carry mine pollutants downhill towards the city – makes Kamloops ill-suited to an open-pit mine. 

"We don't disagree with mining and the creation of jobs and projects that are good for the economy. But this particular mine, in this location, we are against it," Calder told the Tyee in a recent interview.

In the past, open-pit mines located nearby to cities that experience inversion, have been suffered major air pollution problems. Salt Lake City, Utah, is known to have one of the worst air quality rankings in the United States. One third of the city’s air pollution is linked to the Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Bingham Canyon gold and copper mine; an open pit mine located about 20 miles from the city.

The Guardian reports a current lawsuit filed against Rio Tinto “claims the Bingham Canyon mine, near Salt Lake City, has breached air pollution laws for five years causing effects doctors called 'similar to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.'"

There are many claimants in the case including Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (UPHE), Utah Moms for Clean Air and the environmental group Wildearth Guardians. They say the mine has been "emitting particle matter at levels in excess of those allowed by the US Clean Air Act" for at least five years. Rio Tinto denies the claims.”

The UPHE said dust from the Bingham Canyon mine is a risk because it can be "absorbed into the bloodstream, causing respiratory system damage, adverse pulmonary [heart and lungs] effects and potentially even premature death.”

The city of Kamloops is located downwind of the Ajax mine proposal, which makes it especially vulnerable to the particulate dust that such winds could distribute from the mine.

Like the UPHE, local doctors are speaking out against the mine proposal. In their Letter to former Minister of Environment Peter Ken, the Physicians and Surgeons of the City of Kamloops and Surrounding Area expressed the need for further inquiry into the possibility of compromised air quality due to particulate dust containing “Arsenic, Cadmium, Strontium, Manganese, and others."

"These particles can damage healthy lungs,” they wrote.

“Kamloops citizens deserve the most rigorous investigation about the particulate emissions," they said, "and what trace minerals toxic or otherwise may be contained within them, to assess the potential effect on [the] airshed quality.”

The Ajax Mine is expected to have a 23 year lifespan and produce up to 60,000 tonnes of ore per day. The project is currently being reviewed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act.

The proposed site of the Ajax Mine:

For a larger image, click here.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Part 3 of the series The Mine Next Door, an in-depth look at the proposed Ajax mine near Kamloops, British Columbia. Read Part 1 of this series: KGHM Open-Pit Mine Proposal Within Kamloops City Limits and Part 2: The Price of the Ajax Mine.

Ryan Day is a marathon runner who is completing graduate studies in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. He's also from St'uxwtéws, a community of the Secwépemc Nation near Kamloops, B.C. Last year, Day won the Kamloops Marathon, which is one of many outdoor sporting events that take place in the city that, because of a newly proposed open-pit mining project, faces the threat of losing its prized title as “Canada’s Tournament Capital.”

In a recent interview with DeSmog, Day told us that, as a runner, his goal is not the competition. It’s about “modeling a healthy lifestyle and being visible to others."

"The sport of running," he says, "has given me a great deal in my lifetime and if I am able to inspire anyone, particularly youth to take up the sport for fun or competition, that is important to me. Given that placing high in a race creates somewhat of a captive audience I also used it to model taking a principled stance on a very important issue, that of the proposed Ajax mine.”

His position on the KGHM Ajax mine proposal is clear. As a runner, he believes that the construction of the mine will absolutely impact the decision of marathoners like himself to come to Kamloops to run. “If the sport is competed outside,” he told DeSmog, “and there is a possible air quality issue, athletes will not want to risk their health and will seek the next alternative. Likewise, Kamloops may be less likely to win bids to host outdoor sporting events. Perhaps the 'Tournament Capital' may cease to be an accurate title for the city."

Day won't be through with his studies until late October or November of this year, yet he is already working in his field.

“I am working on the health transfer from Health Canada to the First Nations Health Authority, where we are taking a community driven and Nation-based approach to healing and creating wellness among our citizens. In this work I am required to make few compromises to my values as a Secwépemc person and able to support an agenda of authentic healing and wellness for our people. I have been able to apply my Indigenous Governance coursework directly, although my thesis-project is related to mining, Indigenous land title and rights, and economic uncertainty.”[view:in_this_series=block_1]

As a researcher in the field, Day says the debate over the supposed benefits of the Ajax mine is misleading.

“To talk about the benefits of the mine is to be distracted from the fundamental issue at hand: that of justice."

The proposed mine overlaps with Secwépemc Territory, says Day. The land, and the minerals it contains, has more value than its pure economic worth. "There is an ongoing fight for the recognition of our (Secwépemc) title and rights to these lands and in this fight with the crown our biggest bargaining chip is the value of those minerals in the ground."

For this reason, says Day, "the value for Secwépemc peoples is in the mine not going through."

Without a mine "the living Secwépemc peoples and their children have a better hand to play in having our land title and rights recognized in a substantive way."

If the Secwépemc people were to consider the viability of a mine on their territory, says Day, "the health of the land and water will be at the forefront informing the decision on when, how and if, those minerals will leave the ground." 

"It is important to keep in mind Ajax is just one mine threatening the Thomson River watershed.”

The question of economic benefits, however, still has importance to Day's community which, he says, is poor. Sure, says Day, some people might economically benefit from the mine but such 'benefit' seems far from the real kinds of wholistic economic and environmental health his community prizes. His community shouldn't be faced with a decision between environmentally sustainable living on the one hand and economic health on the other.

"The laws and policies of Canada and B.C. have systemically impoverished our people so that we are forced to take jobs we fundamentally oppose. I say fundamentally oppose because an open-pit mine and the technology involved is the definition of short sighted, whereas a Secwépemc worldview requires taking into account many generations into the future. When you are forced into doing something in opposition to your fundamental values how does this make you feel? Is this healthy?”

Day's main concern with the mine “is that of justice." And not just for his people: "Residents of Kamloops need to widen their vision and realize there is an entire ecosystem they are a part of," he says. "The policies of the federal and provincial government are attacking it and Secwépemc land title and rights are their first best defense."

Day says his biggest personal concern is for the region's water. He says the tailings facilities needed to support the mine will "last indefinitely, an imminent threat to the watershed."

Water, he says, is "the lifeblood of these lands."

Kamloops, like many other small towns, is being forced into a restrictive framework when addressing issues of employment and economic stability. One that Day thinks is becoming increasingly out of step with today's ecological limits. 

There is not rosy answer to the question of slowing economies, says Day. "The problem with economic stability is that if we remain stable on this course the destruction of this ecosystem and planet is inevitable. What we need is for people to begin thinking, I mean really sitting down and thinking seven generations into the future and making choices today with that in mind."

That thinking doesn't necessarily dismiss the possibility of resource extraction outright, says Day, but more investment in education and innovation might mean the safer extraction of our resources, and their greatest potential use. Tax dollars and royalty regimes should reflect this smarter use of resources, says Day.

"Therefore the onus is on the policy-making bodies, the federal and provincial governments to use [these] mechanism[s]."

Yet, the failure of past and current governments to adequately address these concerns leads Day to believe the time to properly address inherent legal title and land rights for Indigenous peoples has come.

"First Nations and non-First Nations people alike need to reject the permitting process of the provincial and federal governments on the grounds that they have no legal claim to the lands and at best have an incomplete claim to the lands… This puts fear into the investment community who demands certainty. This puts decision-making power in Indigenous peoples' hands. To be clear, I do not mean the federally delegated authority of the Indian Act Chief & Council but to the People who have collective land and water, title, rights and responsibilities to this place which has never been ceded in treaty or surrendered in war.”

Video courtesy of stopajax.ca.

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Tony Brumell is a poet, a fisherman and a former miner, happily retired in Kamloops B.C. He’s the kind of man that doesn’t have an email address or a laptop. He drives a red pick-up truck with a wooden canoe strapped to the top—ready to cut into the lake at a moment’s notice. Tony is the first to point out that he shouldn't have to meet with us, that his time should be spent canoeing Jacko Lake and dreaming up new lyrical ideas. Instead he volunteers his time to take anyone who’ll listen on environmental tours of the proposed site for KGHM Ajax open-pit gold and copper mine.

It was a grey day in August—a luxury in the Okanagan where mid-summer temperatures can reach upwards of 40˚C—when we, a group of writers and researchers from DeSmog Canada, met with Tony and some members of local preservation organizations. Tony took us on his tour of the rolling hills and glassy lakes that could soon be replaced with a dusty open-pit mine and tailings storage piles.

As a miner and an environmental activist, Tony understands the scale and implications of the project very well. Throughout his career, he’s been involved in everything from blasting, scaling, slope stabilization to surveying. He knows exactly what a mine like Ajax will mean for Kamloops and he is extremely worried.

Tony and a group of folks from the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) and Kamloops Concerned Citizens (KCC) met us fully prepared, with fruits from their gardens and chairs to sit on while they confessed their concerns about the project.

Dianne Kerr, a member of the KCC and KAPA, is a former City Councillor, Chair of the Economic Development Committee, and member of the City Planning Commission. She told DeSmog that she thinks the mine “[is] too big and too close.”

Kerr and KCC co-member, Sandra Abraham, helped to produce the informational video, “Is This The Future of Kamloops?” which outlines the many dangers for Kamloops residents with regards to mining developments.  

It has been the goal of Dianne and these organizations to inform the citizens of Kamloops of the disaster that could be at their doorsteps. KAPA and KCC are concerned that residents aren't taking the threat seriously enough. Since Kamloops has an extensive history of mining and resource-based developments, KAPA and KCC fear that may have set a precedent with residents and politicians that mining is generally benign.

Tony tells us the local mining projects of the past were “nothing of any significant size compared to the proposed KGHM pit." He adds that despite the small scale of previous mining activities, the area is only just beginning to recover the migration of wildlife that once flourished in these lakes and hills. A similar recovery from such a large project as Ajax isn't likely, says Tony.

“This mine will do things to this part of the country that will alter it forever. All of this habitat and recreational area will be gone.”

The Ajax project is much larger than anything ever proposed in Kamloops. While on our tour, Tony asked us to turn and look at Sugarloaf Mountain, the tallest peak in sight, roughly 1640 feet away.

“That is roughly the top of the waste rock storage. It’s going to be 550 feet high… it’s going to be 7000 feet from the eastern edge [which is] about 100 feet from the Coquihalla Highway.”

“And that’s not the big deal” he continued. “This thing is going to be 10,000 feet long. Do you know how long the Bennett Dam is? About 7000 feet—a billion cubic metres of tailings material.”

According to the current plans, KGHM plans to construct two massive waste rock dumps. There is concern that the massive weight from rock and tailings facilities and vast amounts of water for dust control could cause stability problems in the area caused by falling water tables.

Ajax is a low-grade copper mine, expected to be a 60,000 tone-a-day operation with a waste rock to ore ratio of 2.4-1. Which means for every tone that is removed, 2.4 tones will be removed as waste rock.  

Strategic ore stockpiles and waste rock storage piles will be anywhere from 310-725 metres away from the city and could reach as high as skyscrapers. The tailings pile would be loaded with the toxic chemicals used in the extraction process, which could wash away into aquifers and lakes via rainwater, snow, and road treatment. 

The open pit and the processing plant will require KGHM to blast into 20 to 25 square kilometres around the western perimeter of town. The nearest construction site will be a mere 1.25 km away from housing in the Aberdeen neighbourhood and the Pacific Way Elementary School.

KGHM told DeSmog that they are unconcerned about the proximity to the city. "There are many examples of open-pit mines in close proximity to communities and neighbourhoods – much closer even than the proposed Ajax Project. For example, our mine in Nevada is directly adjacent to a residential area." 

However, revised plans for the Ajax project have placed the construction somewhat further away from residential zones. When asked about these reconsiderations, they told DeSmog: "The company has listened to area residents and taken an opportunity to reconfigure the project to lessen their concerns."

Shown Below: KGHM Robinson Mine, Ely, NV.

According to the Ajax Feasibility Study done by Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp, “the project is expected to generate Criteria Air Contaminants (CACs) (particulate matter and atmospheric emissions) from surface disturbance and fossil fuel combustion during construction, operations, decommissioning and reclamation of the project. Fugitive dust is expected to be the major emission relevant to air quality and the primary concern for nearby residents.”  

Initial reports by the Ministry of Energy and Mines Responsible for Core Review have found that the mine is set to blast into rock containing arsenic, lead, aluminum, chromium, uranium, manganese, and strontium.

According to the Airshed Plan 2012, The City of Kamloops said, “there is no safe level of particulate matter.” However, the arid windy Okanagan climate may make dust containing these known carcinogens impossible to avoid.

Kamloops is in a valley susceptible to inversion, which can block the vertical movement of air, making particulate matter and diesel emissions a dangerous threat to local air quality.[view:in_this_series=block_1]

When asked if the Okanagan climate would be taken into consideration in their environmental assessments, KGHM told DeSmog that "[t]he consultants studying dustfall and air quality will use a complex computer model to predict the effects of mine operations. The model incorporates scores of input and factors three years of local weather data. Results are not yet complete. The studies are underway." 

Kerr says that KAPA and the KCC have asked for more extensive environmental assessments from the provincial and federal governments but so far they’ve received only evasive, uninformative replies. 

KGHM told DeSmog: "all the studies are being conducted by independent engineering consultants. Many of the studies will also be peer-reviewed. The final say on the adequacy of the studies rests with the provincial and federal governments, either of which could seek more information or question the work done."

KGHM expects to submit their application for an environmental permit by early 2015.

Until then, Tony Brumell will be offering his time to give tours of Jacko Lake, Inks Lake and Sugarloaf Mountain, always keeping a look out for the rare burrowing owl. There's no better way to learn exactly what's at stake. 

*images used with permission of KAPA and wiki.

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