Province nixes Ajax open-pit mine near Kamloops

British Columbia will not issue an environmental assessment certificate for a proposed open-pit gold and copper mine near Kamloops, ending years of controversy among residents.

Environment Minister George Heyman said the potential for significant adverse effects of the Ajax mine included poor air quality and risk to human health.

He said impacts on Indigenous heritage, grasslands and a lake meant the risks outweighed the potential benefits.

Heyman said he and Mines Minister Michelle Mungall noted significant adverse effects, 21 of which were of a moderate to high magnitude, in their decision to reject a certificate.

“Given these conclusions by the [Environmental Assessment Office] as well as the close proximity of the project to the city of Kamloops, particularly the neighbourhood of Aberdeen as well as an elementary school and a vulnerable population attending the school, we concluded the adverse effects would not likely be mitigated to an acceptable level and would therefore present an unacceptable risk,” he said.

The proposed 1,700-hectare mine is about 10 kilometres southwest of Kamloops and on the traditional lands of several First Nations bands. The project has faced staunch opposition.

The province’s review was part of a joint initiative with the federal government, which will use B.C.’s report as a basis for its own decision, Heyman said.

“No matter what the decision by the federal government is this project would require a provincial certificate to go ahead and the decision today is to not grant one,” he said.