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Canada will help pay for power line to expand mine in Stikine watershed
- Wrangell Sentinel
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Larry Persily
Wrangell Sentinel
An agreement between the Canadian and British Columbia governments to boost resource development in the province includes a $500 million federal pledge (about US$350 million) to expand the capacity of a power line to the Red Chris Mine in the Stikine River watershed.
The mine operator and 70% owner, Denver-based Newmont, along with its joint-venture partner, Vancouver-based Imperial Metals, are studying the feasibility of expanding the open-pit copper and gold mine to recover additional ore and extend its life.
British Columbia regulators approved the expansion project last month.
The mine expansion, which would move operations underground, would require more electricity than the existing power line into the region can handle. Red Chris reports it would need up to 145 megawatts from the planned transmission line upgrade to support its expansion plans.
That’s about seven times the size of the Tyee Lake hydroelectric station which serves Wrangell and Petersburg.
“Canada will provide a federal contribution to support this innovative extension to a significant mining project,” according to the terms of the Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement.
“As the Red Chris joint venture advances through the internal approval process toward a final investment decision, this commitment strengthens the business case for the development of its proposed block-cave copper and gold operation,” Imperial Metals said in a statement July 2.
The mine started operations in 2015 and is located about 50 miles southeast of the Stikine River community of Telegraph Creek, British Columbia, about 130 miles northeast of Wrangell.
“Newmont is currently completing a definitive feasibility study for the project,” the company said July 2. The expansion “is expected to create more than 1,800 jobs during construction, sustain a total approximate workforce of 1,500 peak-season operational roles, and increase Canada’s copper production by an estimated 15%.”
The project would cost several billion dollars and increase ore processing to as much as 15 million tonnes per year.
The expansion underground would extend the life of the mine by approximately 14 years and “sets the foundation for decades of potential additional mining,” Newmont said in a prepared statement.
The mine property covers almost 90 square miles, entirely in the First Nation Tahltan territory. The Tahltan Central Government has consented to the project.
“The mine employs approximately 220 Tahltans and generates approximately $100 million annually in business with the Tahltan Nation Development Corp.,” according to information on the tribal government website.
“In addition, the mine pays annual royalties to the Tahltan Heritage Trust and contributes mineral tax revenue to the province of British Columbia, which is shared directly with the Tahltan Nation.”
Regardless of the Tahltan’s support, environmental and salmon-protector groups on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border have raised alarms at the risk of mining operations in transboundary watersheds, particularly in the Stikine region.
Guy Archibald, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, said he was not surprised at the Canadian government’s decision to contribute money to help the mine expand, as the power line extension has been discussed for years.
“If it’s such a great thing, why aren’t the mining companies paying for it?” he said in an interview July 8. He said government support for power lines is a subsidy.
A Canadian environmental nonprofit group long critical of the Red Chris Mine last year released a report that cites increasing underground seepage of contaminants from the mine’s tailings pond.
The report prepared by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, based in Terrace, British Columbia, criticized the mining operations, particularly the risks associated with water and contaminant seepage from a tailings pond that stores waste rock from the mine.
“The most pervasive environmental issue at Red Chris Mine appears to be the release of contaminated seepage from mine infrastructure to surrounding groundwater,” the report said.
Moving the mining operation underground for what is called “block-cave mining” would increase the volume of waste rock held in storage behind the dams.
The Red Chris power line money is part of a Canada-B.C. agreement that also pledges $3.9 billion (US$2.75 billion) toward the first two stages of BC Hydro’s North Coast Transmission Line expansion farther west and north into the province, intended to power new copper, gold, liquefied natural gas and port projects.
“This agreement is about building B.C.’s future — not just for this year, but for generations to come,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said in a prepared statement on July 2.
The Red Chris expansion “is a priority mining project for British Columbia, and its approval reflects our commitment to responsible resource development that delivers real benefits for people across the province,” Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, said in a prepared statement last month in announcing regulatory approval of the project.
BC Hydro, the provincially owned power generator and transmission line operator, plans to expand the capacity of its system from Prince George west to Terrace, and then add new high-voltage capacity north toward Bob Quinn, which is near the Red Chris Mine.
The Canadian government in March committed $44 million (US$33 million) to accelerate planning for the transmission line project.
“When you go from diesel generation, which could be 25 cents per kilowatt hour-plus, to hydro which is 6 cents per kilowatt hour, that’s a big deal,” Joe Mazumdar, editor and analyst at Exploration Insights, told the Toronto-based newspaper The Northern Miner last week.
• This story originally appeared in the Wrangell Sentinel.
