Abandoned mine still pukes poison into Taku

摘要

Chieftain Metals Inc. has shut down the interim water treatment plant at its troubled Tulsequah Chief Mine. The mine is located in northwestern B.C. beside the Tulsequah River, near its confluence with the Taku River, about 19 miles from the U.S./Canada border. When left untreated, chronic water drainage from the mine leaks acid and heavy metals into the Taku River, the most productive salmon river in Southeast Alaska and home to all five species of salmon. Almost 2 million return there every year. In a 2004 report by the McDowell Group, the ex-vessel value for the Alaska fleet's commercial harvest of Taku River salmon has been between $603,000 and $2.9 million annually since 1994, with approximately 400 people earning income from the commercial harvest of Taku salmon.