Mine review sparks debate – Salmon Arm Observer

A request by the province to substitute a federal environmental review of a proposed mine with a single provincial review has raised concerns and differing opinions.

Shuswap Environmental Action Society president Jim Cooperman was given a guided tour in 2008 of the Ruddock Creek zinc mine, high above the headwaters of the Adams River.

“At that point they were going to do all the processing a long way away in an area that didn’t post any environmental risks,” he says. “Since then, they’ve changed the plans.”

While he describes the plan by mine owner Imperial Metals of Vancouver as basically a good one, Cooperman says his main concern is the tailings to be stored there for the first six months of operation going into Light Lake.

Cooperman’s other concern is the fact the mine is located in a heavy snowfall area with a high likelihood of avalanches, events that he believes could destroy infrastructure and harm the surrounding environment, including Oliver Creek and farther downstream, the Adams River.