Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleA private company is advancing plans to mine copper and cobalt inside Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in northwest British Columbia, according to a report by The Tyee. The park is part of a transboundary UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The company, Dominion Critical Minerals, wants to reopen the Windy Craggy mine. The Tyee obtained the details through freedom of information documents, including a June briefing note prepared for then-environment and parks minister Tamara Davidson.
A project once ruled out
Windy Craggy was in pre-production development in the 1990s. The documents say the B.C. government then judged it “too hazardous environmentally.” The province later added the mine site to the existing park and gave the mining company of the day, Geddes Resources Ltd., compensation described as the equivalent of $120 million.
Geddes was not required to clean up its exploration sites. The briefing note says they still leach acid rock drainage into the environment, including a tributary of the salmon-bearing Tatshenshini River. One area has “distinctive orange-coloured water” discharging from it. Geddes left about 65 kilometres of diamond drill holes and four kilometres of underground features known as adits.
The note says that discharge first drew the attention of Dominion, a junior company incorporated in B.C. in September 2025. Dominion proposes to reduce the acid drainage while mining the site. Davidson was told the company appears to have strong financial backing and determination, despite the site being in a park and despite First Nation concerns. The note does not describe those concerns.
Park boundary and First Nations
Mining is not allowed in Class A parks in B.C. The Environment Ministry suggested Dominion apply for a park boundary adjustment. Any decision on removing the proposed mining area from the park would rest with the environment minister. It is not clear whether Dominion has applied. The Tyee reports the company has no website or public contact information.
The company’s latest proposal is a 37-kilometre tunnel to reach the deposit without affecting the surface, the note says. Davidson was told Dominion’s plans have changed at a rapid pace to address concerns.
The park lies in the territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, which have a management agreement with the Environment Ministry. The nations were not available to comment before The Tyee’s deadline. The ministry told The Tyee that media communications are limited to critical health and public safety information until the new provincial government is sworn in, likely in mid-November.
Environmental hazards and reaction
An attachment to the briefing note calls Windy Craggy “the most environmentally hazardous mining project ever proposed in Canada.” It says the ore averages 35 per cent sulphide. It adds that the site is in the most earthquake-prone area of North America, which makes it impossible to guarantee the long-term safety of tailings dams.
Exposing sulphides to oxygen and moisture can produce vast amounts of sulphuric acid that leaches heavy metals from bedrock. The attachment says this acid mine drainage lasts thousands of years and is lethal to fish.
The documents list threats from the original project, including:
- transboundary fisheries estimated at tens of millions of dollars a year;
- Glacier Bay National Park and World Heritage Site in southeast Alaska;
- the subsistence fishery and traditional lifestyle of Yakutat First Nation at the mouth of the Alsek River;
- grizzly bear and rare glacier bear populations.
The original proposal drew strong public opposition. B.C., Canadian and U.S. agencies deemed it environmentally unacceptable, the documents say.
Monitoring currently shows the discharge meets acceptable water quality objectives when it reaches the nearest tributary, the note says. BC Parks expects this year’s results to justify moving from a five-year to a 10-year monitoring cycle. Monitoring costs $20,000 every five years.
Johnny Mikes, a conservation specialist and adviser with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society who helped create the park, told The Tyee that developing the river valleys would undermine the reasons the park and World Heritage Site exist. Tori Ball, the society’s B.C. conservation director, said parks must be off limits to industrial activity. She said she has faith the province’s new Conservative government will keep the park fully protected.
Source: The Tyee
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
