Efforts to clean up a shuttered mine site leaking toxic water into salmon habitat south of Juneau hit a roadblock this week, as officials say a Canadian-based mining business is no longer interested in buying — and cleaning up — the mine.
In a Tuesday email to the Empire, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources wrote that Black Loon Metals Inc. has backed out of talks to purchase the mine from bankrupt current owner Chieftain Metals Corp.
“Chieftain Metals and Black Loon Metals are no longer in discussions to purchase the Tulsequah Chief Mine,” adding, “the Province has the information needed to inform next steps.”
A purchase agreement would have left Black Loon on the hook to clean up the mine’s exfiltration pond, which since 1957 has leaked about 400 million liters per year of acidic runoff into the Tulsequah River, a tributary of the Taku River.
The lack of action at the site has tribal organizations and conservation groups frustrated, especially in light of a July 18 ecological risk assessment which shows pollution on the river could be worse than previous estimates.
“It is clear the Tulsequah Chief is not a viable mine, financially, environmentally or politically,” Chris Zimmer, a conservationist with Rivers Without Borders, wrote in a release. “The Tulsequah Chief Mine is a toxic legacy from the Christy Clark administration that the new B.C. government should promptly clean up and close down.”
In an email to the Empire, Black Loon Metals Inc. declined to comment on purchase talks falling through.
The pollution, originating from a mine adit, shows high concentrations of copper, which can be harmful to salmon, a prized fish to Taku River commercial, subsistence and sport fishermen.
Known as acid mine drainage, the pollution violates Canadian law and agreements with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, headquartered in Atlin, B.C.
Taku River Tlingit First Nation could not be reached for comment.
The ministry reissued orders on July 4 for Chieftain Metals to resolve issues at the mine. If Chieftain Metals does not comply with the orders, the ministry may seek court-ordered financial relief.
Two companies have attempted to reopen the mine since it closed in 1957 and both have gone bankrupt. After Chieftain Mines folded in 2016, B.C. has hoped a new buyer would assume responsibility for the mine cleanup.
Chieftain has fallen into the hands of third-party creditors, however, and with talks on the sale falling through, it’s unclear if B.C. will pay for the cleanup or wait for another company is interested in reopening the mine. A junior partner with Toronto-based firm Grant Thornton LLP, which is mediating the sale of the Tulsequah Chief Mine, told the Empire in March that there’s “no deadline per se” for a purchase.
In fall of 2016, B.C. secured a $1.2 million in financial security to clean up some unsecured chemicals at the mine site. In their statement to the Empire, the ministry wrote that the “province will conduct work to address the orders in relation to the exfiltration pond at the site.”
At press time, the Empire is waiting on a response from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources if their statements indicate that, after 60 years, cleanup at the of the Tulsequah Chief Mine’s toxic runoff might begin.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com
