Amid Merger, Teck Targets Tulsequah Chief Cleanup Timeline

Chieftain Metals acquired the Tulsequah Chief Mine property in 2010 with the intention to restart operations and address environmental issues, but Chieftain went into receivership in 2016, unable to fund the required cleanup. From 2012 to 2016, the British Columbia government inspected the Tulsequah Chief site and issued several advisories and warnings to Chieftain. By 2018, Chieftain had not provided a cleanup plan, and provincial officials warned of escalating enforcement.

In 2022, the Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low-Carbon Innovation conducted an inspection to document current site conditions and compliance with orders resulting from inspections conducted in 2016 and 2017. Chieftain did not respond to the October 2022 orders, and the chief inspector of mines issued orders to Chieftain in January 2023 requiring plans for disposal of chemicals, the water treatment plant, environmental monitoring, and reclamation within 90 days.

After discussions with Chieftain’s secured creditor, Armex Mining Corporation, the chief inspector delayed the deadline until the end of 2023. However, as a result of continued and ongoing non-compliances, the chief inspector decided to cancel the mine’s permit on March 22, 2024. That serious consequence has led to some forward momentum.

Moving Toward Reclamation

In one of its last acts before merging with Anglo American, Teck Resources held a webinar on December 3 with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) to discuss a cooperative approach to the Tulsequah Chief situation.

“Doing this work is long overdue, but it is actively being done,” says Rodger Thorlakson, TRTFN’s land and resources manager, in Atlin, British Columbia.

University of Washington researcher Chris Sergeant, consulting for TRTFN, reported that toxins continue to seep from the mine, yet elevated pollution is not found beyond 1.8 miles downstream. However, he warned that, with climate change, glaciers will continue to melt, and warmer water will attract more salmon. Furthermore, the webinar raised the possibility of more acid runoff from deteriorating mine infrastructure killing more salmon.

“Our focus is on developing sustainable, long-term solutions to manage the water risk at the site,” said Deborah Read, Teck’s project site manager. “So this approach aims to manage the source of the acid mine drainage and protect the water quality without relying on something like a treatment system that requires a full-time ongoing site presence and intensive maintenance.”

Read added, “In parallel, we are assessing the need for and the feasibility of a short-term treatment system, and the associated risks with having a system like that on site.”

A draft for a cleanup plan is due by the end of 2026, and a target date for final approval is in 2029. Only then would the cleanup plan be executed.

The long timeline, combined with a fervor for more mineral development in the transboundary region, has environmental groups concerned that Tulsequah Chief cleanup will drag on well into the next decade.

“We are grateful to the TRTFN for their leadership and aquatic monitoring, but we have many concerns about what we heard from Teck today, including that a cleanup plan won’t even be drafted until 2029,” says Breanna Walker, director of Salmon Beyond Borders. “The BC government could legally hold Teck, the mine’s historical owner, liable for the estimated $100 million cost of the cleanup right now. Instead of doing that, they’re hoping Teck will continue to volunteer to be involved. This lack of enforcement speaks volumes as to the way the province tiptoes around the big players in the mining industry—and the risk that means the rest of us face.”

The risk appears somewhat mitigated by findings that stream contamination has limited effects on resident salmon thanks to a life cycle that keeps them in the ocean for most of their lives. Sergeant told the webinar that future studies will determine the extent of the pollution risk.