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Continue ShoppingThe Environment
When the mine was at its peak, the surrounding environment paid a stiff price. Local groundwater, creeks and the waters of nearby Howe Sound all suffered losses that hung on for many decades. The source of the problem was known as Acid Rock Drainage (ARD).
The overwhelming size of the mine meant larger amounts of ARD were generated. Environmental regulations of the day were minimal, so little was done to attack the problem. To make matters worse, the digging of 240 km of tunnels in the mountains, plus the fractured nature of the rock, created a much larger surface for the damaging chemical reaction. To add to that, with high snow and heavy rainfall winding up in the mine's open pit, more water was becoming polluted.
Britannia Mine's Environmental Legacy & Remediation
Understanding Acid Rock Drainage
Located at Britannia Beach on Howe Sound in British Columbia, Canada, Britannia Mine produced copper ore, lead ore, and zinc ore for decades. ARD occurs naturally, anywhere that metal sulphides such as pyrite are exposed to air and water. At Britannia, chalcopyrite (copper ore), galena (lead ore) and sphalerite (zinc ore) were also involved. The sulphuric acid and dissolved metals that were produced by ARD wound up polluting the local environment once they found their way into groundwater, creeks and the Howe Sound.
Treatment
The water treatment plant at Britannia Mine, operated by BQE Water Inc., processes contaminated drainage daily, raising the pH from 3.8 to 9.3 using a lime slurry process. An electrostatic polymer is added to bind metals, and approximately 600–700 kg of metal sludge is removed each day, preventing contaminants from entering Howe Sound.
Copper Launders
From the 1930s until Anaconda's closure in 1974, copper-rich drainage flowed through a series of launders into Howe Sound. After closure, an earth and mud dam was constructed to contain the tailings, but acid rock drainage continued to leach into the surrounding watershed.
Britannia's Environmental Journey
The following reports document Britannia Mine's environmental history, government legislation milestones, and the remediation journey from 1967 to present. Britannia went from meeting all the environmental standards of its time while in operation to becoming one of the worst industrial pollution points in North America following its closure before the clean-up began. What happened? Explore the changing environmental standards as well as the issues between government and landowners that caused Britannia's deterioration.
Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society
Video: Howe Sound Biosphere Region — recovery of marine ecosystems following Britannia Mine remediation, produced by the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society.
The Clean-Up
Between 2002 and 2005, Golder Associates completed one of BC's largest mine remediation projects at Britannia Mine. Since then, BQE Water Inc. has treated over 4.2 billion litres of contaminated water, preventing more than 5 million kg of contaminants from entering Howe Sound.
