A 小蓝视频 Supreme Court judge will take more time to review an by a First Nation seeking to halt additional tailings at a controversial mining operation north of Williams Lake.
Meanwhile, Brian Kynoch, president of Imperial Metals Corp. (TSX:III), said while the judge reviews the application from Xat艣奴ll First Nation, his company has voluntarily suspended using the recently raised portion of the Mount Polley tailings pond.
Kynoch said June 30, following a three-day hearing, the judge will reserve a decision on the injunction until Aug. 7.
Imperial is the parent company of Mount Polley Mining Corporation, which operates an open pit gold and copper mine 56 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake.
A breach of the mine’s dam in August 2014 sent 25 million cubic metres of mine waste, water and construction materials downriver. Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake all faced widespread and long-lasting environmental damages.
On April 15, Xat艣奴ll First Nation filed for a judicial review to overturn two provincial decisions by four metres. It subsequently called for the injunction against the company.
Xat艣奴ll, with support from the Union of 小蓝视频 Indian Chiefs, asserts the government’s approval of the raised tailings dam was contrary to 小蓝视频’s legal obligations under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; this is, in part, because Xat艣奴ll claims it was not adequately consulted.
BIV understands a decision on the judicial review will come in the following weeks or months.
“Xat艣奴ll continues to call for accountability and responsible decision-making regarding industrial activity on its territory, especially in light of the unresolved impacts of the 2014 tailings dam breach,” the nation stated via Coast Communications and Public Affairs on June 30.
Kynoch said his company is committed to “maintaining a meaningful relationship with Xat艣奴ll and Williams Lake First Nation.”
It is the latter nation that Kynoch says the company has a “revised participation agreement” with and has “indicated satisfaction with the engagement and is supportive of the permitting and [tailings storage facility] raise.”
BIV reached out to Williams Lake First Nation but did not receive a response in time for publication.
In a conference call with media, BIV asked Kynoch what the repercussions could be if an injunction is approved.
“I don't know the exact date, but at some time, likely late this summer or in the fall, we need to be able to use that raise that we are constructing to store tailings. So if we couldn't store tailings, then we couldn't operate at Mount Polley,” said Kynoch.
Kynoch was asked if the consultation process has become a new regulatory burden on top of others.
“I think we're trying to figure out exactly what all the rules are and how we go around doing that; but we did what the province asked us to do, to get the permit. Williams Lake First Nation is fine with the permit and Xat艣奴ll isn't fine, so we just have to figure our way through this,” said Kynoch.
