Friends of Clayoquot Sound: Mining Issues in Clayoquot Sound

Imperial Metals, a Vancouver-based mining company, is currently exploring the potential for two mines in Clayoquot Sound.

Catface Mountain copper mine proposal

Located just 10 km north of Tofino, and only 3 km from the Native village of Ahousaht, Catface Mountain is a prominent local landmark visible from many locations in Clayoquot Sound.

Imperial has spent a couple of summers doing exploratory drilling for copper on Catface Mountain. The company has stated it will decide in the next year or two whether to apply for a mine. Meanwhile, FOCS is ramping up our educational campaigns to let people know about this potential disaster in the making.

Here are some concerns about this proposal:

Globally rare ecosystem: Catface Mountain is in Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a globally rare temperate rainforest. The Reserve provides habitat for a vast array of species (including wild salmon, bears, whales), a significant number of which are endangered or rare.

Mountaintop removal: Imperial Metals would need to remove over 200 million tonnes of "waste rock" — the top of Catface’s south peak — and dump it somewhere nearby. The removal would be visible and audible from Tofino, the Native village of Ahousaht, and adjacent provincial parks.

Toxic tailings pond: 300 million tonnes of ore would have to be blasted out of the mountain. Only 0.4% of that ore is copper, so over 99% would become toxic sludge that needs to be stored in a tailings pond — for centuries.

Wild salmon: A tailings pond could potentially inundate the lower half of salmon-bearing Pineetl Creek, as well as 4 adjacent streams, 2 of which flow into Cypre River. The Cypre hosts all 5 Pacific salmon species.

Marine impacts: Copper is highly toxic to marine organisms. The ocean and shorelines below Catface Mountain support rich aquatic life including clam beds, eelgrass, herring spawning beds, and grey whale feeding areas. There are 3 rockfish conservation areas near Catface.

Fandora gold mine proposal

In August 2010, Imperial received a mineral exploration permit to drill 10 test holes near the historic Fandora gold mine in Clayoquot Sound. The permit includes reactivating old logging roads to access the site. Exploratory drilling would investigate how far the Fandora gold vein extends beyond the old mine site and locate additional gold veins.

Drilling at Fandora could begin this summer. In a June 2011 field trip, FOCS came across an Imperial crew working on the claim. At that time, they had not yet begun drilling or road-building.

There is widespread opposition to these proposals — Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is no place for industrial mining. We want future generations to inherit clean water and healthy land. Let’s ensure that they do!

Click here to Take Action

Catface mining info package

We have been looking into the effects and consequences of hardrock mines, and copper mines in particular. Here are five short fact sheets we have found or compiled (all files are PDFs):

Courtesy of the First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network:

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)

Arsenic and health

Copper and health

Compiled from other sources:

Impacts of copper on aquatic ecosystems

Social impacts of mining

Download all five in a ZIP file by clicking here. (550 K)

Mining presentation by energy analyst

Independent energy analyst Arthur Caldicott gave a presentation called Catface Mine: Context & Considerations here in Tofino on May 11, 2010. (Thanks to NDP MLA Scott Fraser for arranging this.)

Over 60 people showed up to learn about the mining industry and its far-reaching effects. Arthur generously made his presentation slides available for download at this link (PDF, 2.2 Meg).

PO Box 489, 331 Neill St., Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
250-725-4218 info@focs.ca