First Nations mining group calls for ‘super fund’ to cover tailings-dam disasters – The Province
VICTORIA — A mining organization representing B.C. First Nations wants companies to bankroll an emergency fund that will cover the cost of disasters similar to last summer’s Mount Polley tailings dam collapse.
The North Vancouver-based B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council states in a 42-page report released Wednesday that mining operations threaten more than 230 northern aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities and even the drinking water of Prince George, Terrace and Smithers.
The report, Uncertainty Upstream: Potential Threats from Tailings Facility Failures in Northern British Columbia, states that 35 tailing ponds at 26 mines and in 48 watersheds could also impact 8,678 kilometres of fish-bearing waters.
