https://thenarwhal.ca Deep Dives, Cold Facts, & Pointed Commentary en-US Copyright 2026 The Narwhal hourly 1 https://thenarwhal.ca/similkameen-copper-mountain-mine-expansion/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:22:41 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=155992 The project near Princeton, B.C., and close to the Similkameen River will revive an old open-pit mine and raise its tailings dam by 87 metres Aaron Hemens News B.C. Critical Minerals Indigenous Rights mining tailings ponds Photo: Aaron Hemens / IndigiNews An aerial view of an open-pit mine and tailings pond with a river beside them. https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-critical-minerals-fast-tracked-tariffs/ Mon, 24 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=133870 Premier David Eby says the province has ‘unlimited’ potential when it comes to critical minerals. Used to make everything from weapons to renewables, critics question whether B.C.'s rush to mine copper, lithium and more could impact the environment and Indigenous Rights Zoë Yunker In-Depth B.C. Canada-U.S. relations Indigenous Rights mining tailings ponds Photo: Andrew Roberts / The Narwhal The steep wall of a massive tailings dam holds back cloudy water between treed hills https://thenarwhal.ca/high-risk-mining-tailings-sites-bc-2024/ Tue, 13 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=115603 Mining operations in B.C. store wet waste in tailings 'ponds' shored up by a dam. A dam failure could be catastrophic for watersheds and communities. Shannon Waters Explainer B.C. mining Mount Polley tailings ponds water Photo: Garth Lenz / The Narwhal Red Chris Mine. Tailings Pond. view west across top of north dam...still working on south face of dam Northwest B.C., 2017. https://thenarwhal.ca/opinion-mount-polley-mining-law-decade-later/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:20:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=115016 Indigenous law and governance point to a better way forward — one that could make catastrophic mine failures a thing of the past Bev Sellars and Neil Nunn and Sonia Furstenau Opinion B.C. Indigenous Rights mining Mount Polley tailings ponds Photo: Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press A large volume of murky, brown waste flows into a blue lake https://thenarwhal.ca/mount-polley-mining-disaster-tenth-anniversary/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:01:31 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=114875 A faulty tailings dam at the B.C. mine dumped billions of litres of waste into the environment — and Quesnel Lake is still contaminated. Now Imperial Metals wants to expand the same dam Shannon Waters In-Depth B.C. mining Mount Polley tailings ponds water An aerial view of the Mount Polley tailings dam breach shows a deluge of mining waste flowing through the forest https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-mine-tailings-dam-regulations/ Mon, 24 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=84100 Government documents reveal Ontario was warned five years ago that scant regulations around the dams that contain mine tailings — a slurry of water, rock and chemicals — mean a disastrous spill is largely out of its hands Emma McIntosh Investigation News environmental law mining Ontario tailings ponds Photo: Jason Empey An aerial view of a tailings pond surrounded by forest https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-mines-risks-2023/ Thu, 25 May 2023 17:21:05 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=79329 Mining is big business in B.C. and it’s an industry that produces a lot of waste. A new report highlights 11 mines of concern and what’s stopping the province from getting them to clean up their acts Francesca Fionda In-Depth News B.C. coal Indigenous Rights mining tailings ponds transboundary Photo: Jesse Winter / The Narwhal https://thenarwhal.ca/fort-chipewyan-kearl-oilsands-spill/ Wed, 19 Apr 2023 20:09:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=75560 An Imperial Oil tailings pond leak — kept quiet for months — has renewed debate about the complicated and complex reality of life in northern Alberta Drew Anderson On the ground Alberta freshwater Indigenous Rights oil and gas oilsands tailings ponds Calvin Waquan at his family's store and gas station in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., holding a box of water bottles with oil mixed in them. https://thenarwhal.ca/opinion-mikisew-cree-alberta-tailings/ Wed, 08 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=72527 The tailings ponds in Alberta are growing — and leaking. The feds need to ask Indigenous nations before allowing oilsands companies to release them into rivers Aliénor Rougeot and Melody Lepine Opinion Alberta COP15 environmental racism freshwater Indigenous Rights oilsands tailings ponds Photo: Ian Willms / Panos Pictures Oilsands tailings pond from above https://thenarwhal.ca/imperial-oil-kearl-aer/ Wed, 08 Feb 2023 20:36:48 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=70161 The Alberta Energy Regulator has ordered the company to contain the leak and fix the problem at Kearl oilsands project Drew Anderson News Alberta environmental law oilsands tailings ponds Photo: Todd Korol / The Canadian Press Brad Corson, the CEO of Imperial Oil at a news conference https://thenarwhal.ca/capp-oil-lobbying-alberta-government/ Mon, 19 Dec 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=66423 In closed-door meetings with Alberta officials, lobbyists repackaged long-standing requests — on everything from wetland programs to tailings ponds monitoring to public consultation — as COVID-19 relief measures Carl Meyer and Drew Anderson Investigation Alberta climate change coronavirus Corporate Influence Democracy environmental law foi Fossil Fuel Subsidies Indigenous Rights oil and gas oilsands tailings ponds Illustration: Jarett Sitter / The Narwhal Illustration of lobbyists handing a list of requests to former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, with file called "CAPP 132"