B.C. ends jade mining in northwest, all mines to close in 5 years

British Columbia isn't al‐ lowing any new jade mines to open in the northwest, and has set a five-year wind-down period for ex‐ isting operations.

A statement from the Min‐ istry of Energy and Mines says officials have been working closely with First Na‐ tions to address concerns about the effects of jade min‐ ing on sensitive alpine envi‐ ronments in the area near Dease Lake, about 1,750 kilo‐ metres northwest of Vancou‐ ver.

An order under the Envi‐ ronment and Land Use Act was necessary to protect the area from further harm and disturbance, it said.

Mining activities on new tenures must stop immedi‐ ately, while existing tenure holders may continue oper‐ ating for five years with "en‐ hanced regulatory require‐ ments," allowing them "ade‐ quate time to wind down."

"The ministry has been working closely with local First Nations, with input from industry, to address concerns regarding the environmental impacts to sensitive alpine environments from jade min‐ ing in the Turnagain region of northwestern B.C.," the state‐ ment reads. "The order is needed to protect these areas from further harm and disturbance."

In addition to environ‐ mental harms, the ministry said jade mining has posed significant challenges when it comes to permitting, compli‐ ance and enforcement in northwestern B.C., where many sites are only accessi‐ ble by helicopter.

The province said the or‐ der is limited to jade mining in that region, and it does not affect other kinds of mining or jade tenures elsewhere in B.C.

Jade is the provincial stone, and in 2016, under the then-B.C. Liberal government, energy and mines minister Bill Bennett declared May 28 as Jade Day, to promote awareness of its "economic benefits."

However, there has been significant contention over jade mining in the past sever‐ al years. In 2020, the province, under the B.C. NDP government, implemented a temporary ban on jade placer mining in the northern half of B.C.

CBC News reached out to the Tahltan Central govern‐ ment, which has publicly ob‐ jected to jade mining on its territories, but no one was immediately available to comment.

In a 2021 statement, the nation demanded an end to a reality TV show Jade Fever, which followed a jade mining operation on Tahltan terri‐ tory. It also criticized the province's ban on placer min‐ ing, saying it didn't go far enough.

About two months later, in July 2021, the province up‐ dated its ban on jade mining to include a ban on hard rock jade mining.

Companies say they were not consulted

In response to the province's bans, two com‐ panies, Cassiar Jade Contract‐ ing Inc. and Glenpark Enter‐ prises Ltd. filed a lawsuit against the B.C. government in March 2024 seeking finan‐ cial compensation for the monetary damages caused by the bans.

In April, the province filed a response in court, stating the companies "could never have had a reasonable ex‐ pectation of unconditional rights in relation to their min‐ ing claims." The lawsuit re‐ mains before the courts as of publication.

Glenpark president Kristin Rosequist said she thought the government was going to announce a reform of the province's jade mining indus‐ try in the northwest - not a total shutdown.

"I hope that the people can recognize that the gov‐ ernment is being so heavyhanded," she told CBC News. "In lieu of enforcing their own regulations, they find it more suitable to shut down an entire industry."

Tony Ritter, the president of Cassiar Jade, said mining companies were not appro‐ priately consulted before the latest announcement, and that the government has only just reached out to set up a working group to discuss the incoming regulations.

"I have a lot of questions that are unanswered," he said.

Ritter said companies like his are being punished de‐ spite an excellent environ‐ mental record, due to other companies' disregard of the regulations.