British Columbia Issues Tailings Pond Guidance in Wake of Mount Polley Breach

摘要

British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office announced requirements for new mine tailings ponds, responding to the Mount Polley mine tailing dam collapse last summer. The guidelines were released in a series of letters March 19 after a review found that the Aug. 4, 2014 collapse at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine owned by Imperial Metals Corp., which contaminated waterways in rural British Columbia, was caused by unstable glacial soil beneath the dam (38 INER 168, 2/11/15). The provincial Ministry of Environment said companies proposing new mines should take steps to ensure they're using the best technology available to avoid tailings pond problems.