Company's Offices Searched As Part Of Investigation Into B.C. Mine Disaster

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Conservation Service has searched two offices of the company that owns the Mount Polley mine as part of an investigation into a tailings pond spill that gushed millions of cubic metres of wastewater into streams and rivers.

 

Imperial Metals Corp. (TSX:III) is being investigated by several agencies for possible violations of the Fisheries Act and the Environmental Management Act.

 

Insp. Chris Doyle of the conservation service said the company's office at the mine in B.C.'s central Interior and its headquarters in Vancouver were searched Tuesday after warrants were served.

 

He said a major investigation is underway, and the evidence being gathered will be presented to provincial and federal prosecutors.

 

Environment Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the RCMP are also investigating.

 

"I can't really go into any particulars," Doyle said of his agency's probe. "We don't want to jeopardize the investigation or any subsequent core proceedings."

 

He said there is no firm timeline on the investigation.

 

Imperial Metals said in a written statement that officials are co-operating with authorities and that the company understands the warrants are a normal part of the investigation.

 

An independent report, released last week, blamed poor dam design for the collapse at the open pit gold and copper mine on Aug. 4 last year.

 

The spill released 24 million cubic metres of wastewater into a series of salmon-bearing waterways, raising concerns about the potential impact on humans and putting the entire mining industry under scrutiny.

 

The report said that building the mine's tailings site on a sloped glacial lake failed to account for drainage and erosion.

 

First Nations leaders are also urging the B.C. government to adopt each of the seven recommendations laid out in the review of the Mount Polley mine disaster.