Stikine River
Photo by Colin Arisman
Status of B.C. Mining Activity in the Stikine Watershed
Over a dozen B.C. gold-copper mines are proposed or in development in the Stikine-Iskut watershed, including the operating Red Chris mine. Most of these mines include or will include, massive mine waste dams, which are prone to failure. Under current regulatory practices, British Columbia is expected to see two mine tailings dam failures every ten years. Two of the mines in the Stikine watershed are so risky that they made it onto the list of 12 B.C. mines with tailings dams of greatest concern in a 2022 report by Steve Emerman, Ph.D.
For thousands of years, Tahltan and Tlingit peoples have stewarded the 19,700 sq mi (50,900 sq km) Shtax'heen Héeni (Stikine River) watershed. The Stikine River flows from Klabona, the “Sacred Headwaters” in British Columbia, to the Stikine Flats of Southeast Alaska. On the B.C. side of the border, the watershed is within the traditional and present-day territory of the Tahltan First Nation. On the Alaska side of the political border, the lower part of the Stikine River watershed is part of the traditional and present-day lands of the Shtax'heen Kwáan, and the Wrangell Cooperative Association, a U.S. federally recognized Tribe.
Red Chris Mine
Operating
British Columbia authorized operations to begin at Red Chris only months after the mine waste (tailings) dam disaster at its smaller “sister” mine, Mount Polley. Red Chris is at the headwaters of the Iskut River, the largest tributary to the Stikine. It includes multiple open pits and a mine waste storage facility six times the size of Mount Polley’s, with three earthen dams. The mine co-owners, Imperial Metals and Newcrest, plan to extend the life of the mine by 14 years (until 2057) through a shift to block-cave underground mining, almost doubling the size of the tailings facility, and raising the heights of mine waste dams almost 90 feet above current permitted levels. These actions will destroy more freshwater habitat downstream, yet do not trigger the need for new permits under current B.C. law.
Photos by Colin Arisman
Red Chris Mine
Photo by Colin Arisman
Galore Creek Proposed Mine
Developing
Schaft Creek Mine Project
The Galore Creek proposed mine, owned by Teck/Newmont, and the Schaft Creek mine project, owned by Teck/Copper Fox, are located along the lower Stikine River. Road-building and other development at these proposed mines – which are much larger than Red Chris – ramped up significantly during the pandemic. The Galore Creek proposed mine received its Environmental Assessment (EA) certificate from B.C. in 2007, when Teck and NovaGold were project co-owners. At least one of the Galore Creek waste dams will be one of the world’s highest. The Schaft Creek mine project has been in the EA process since 2006.
Advanced exploration
Schaft Creek Mine Project.
Photo by Colin Arisman
Galore Creek Proposed Mine.
Photo by Colin Arisman
Iskut Mine Project
Advanced exploration
Snip Mine
Potential re-opening
The Iskut gold project and Snip gold mine are located in the lower Iskut River, near the where the tributary flows back into the mainstem of the Stikine River. Seabridge Gold's Iskut Project is in the advanced exploration phase. Skeena Resources purchased the nearby Snip Mine in 2017, with plans to reopen this mine at some point. Both projects are on the list of 12 B.C. mines with tailings dams of greatest concern in Steve Emerman's 2022 report.
Photo of the Iskut River, not specifically the described projects. Photo by Colin Arisman
Newmont Lake Mine Project
Early exploration
Enduro Metals’ Newmont Lake exploratory mine project is located close to the Snip mine and to the Stikine watershed’s lower Iskut River. Enduro Metals is a Canadian junior mining company, similar to over 100 other Canadian junior mining companies that own mineral claims and are conducting exploratory work at gold mine projects in the transboundary Taku, Stikine, and Unuk watersheds, and along the transboundary Portland Canal. Virtually all lands adjacent to the Iskut River are staked with Canadian mining claims.
Iskut River, not specifically the project described. Photo by Colin Arisman
The Stikine watershed is just one of the three transboundary rivers that originates in British Columbia, Canada and flows into Southeast Alaska. These transboundary rivers are staked with mines & mining claims that threaten our rivers, salmon and communities.
