Imperial Metals CEO apologizes for tailings pond breach – BiV
By Nelson Bennett Tue Aug 5, 2014 4:41pm PST
Ten million gallons of water released when a tailings pond dam for the Mount Polley mine collapsed should not pose a danger to people or fish, Brian Kynoch, CEO for Imperial Metals Corp. (TSX:III), said at a press conference this afternoon (August 5).
In fact, the worst damage may be to Imperial’s reputation and bottom line – not to mention its stock price, which was down 40.6% on the day to $9.98.
The failure of the tailings pond shut down the company’s most productive mine for an indefinite period and one mining analyst suggested that it could also delay the commissioning of Imperial’s new Red Chris mine.
The Ministry of Environment estimates the dam’s failure released 10 million cubic metres of water (enough to fill 4,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools) and 4.5 million cubic metres of sand into Polley and Quesnel lakes.
