Vancouver/CMEDIA: The approval reportedly of an amendment to the Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine environmental assessment certificate by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) authorizes the mine near Fort St. James to increase production and continue operations until 2035.
Included in the existing Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine site is an open-pit mine, tailings storage facility, road access, transmission line and rail shipping facility.
After careful consideration of the conclusions of the EAO’s comprehensive nine-month review of Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.’s application, the EAO’s chief executive assessment officer made the decision to continue mining at the site.
Potential effects on nearby communities and First Nations, water and fish habitat, air quality and noise were examined by the review which also considered safety risks, First Nations rights and cumulative effects.
With permitting reviews by the ministries of Mining and Critical Minerals and Environment and Parks into one review, the EAO integrated its assessment of the complex project amendment as a priority project.
This co-ordination, while upholding environmental protections and consultation obligations with First Nations, facilitated the regulatory agencies to share expertise and reduce duplication, shaving more than a year off the usual timeline for provincial reviews.
Determining the application of legally binding conditions, continuing mining operations would not create significant new impacts, and impacts can be appropriately mitigated by the EAO’s assessment, the EAO also updated the requirements in the project’s environmental assessment certificate to address the expansion’s impacts on the environment and people.
These include:
- ensuring First Nations have the opportunity to participate in developing and implementing environmental monitoring and baseline data collection programs
- monitoring and reporting wildlife mortality along transportation corridors
- developing a plan for wetland reclamation and replacement areas when the mine closes
Complying with the existing conditions and mitigation measures in the environmental assessment certificate, which protect the environment, the company must continue to regulate water and waste management, dam safety and emergency response, and uphold First Nations rights and traditional uses.
Permits, if issued, would include additional requirements for mitigation measures to address the expansion related to waste-rock management, surface and groundwater, air and sound pollution, safety protocols, closure and post-closure water quality, and reclamation requirements.
Employing approximately 600 people in the region, if all other authorizations are approved, the Mt. Milligan mine expansion will generate additional jobs during construction and expanded operations and contribute as much as $450 million in additional economic benefits to the region.
Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. operates Mt. Milligan copper-gold mine approximately 90 kilometres northeast of Fort St. James.
The environmental assessment certificate for Mt. Milligan mine was issued in 2009 after a comprehensive environmental assessment. In March 2025, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. applied to extend the operating mine’s life and increase production.
Authorizing an 80-hectare expansion to the disturbance area for construction materials, The mine-life extension also offers an increase in production from 60,000 tonnes to 66,500 tonnes of ore per day by deepening the pit.
Also included in the amendment are building new infrastructure, altering the transportation route, increasing the tailings storage facility dam height from 1,095 metres to 1,121 metres above sea level, establishing a new waste-rock stockpile and updating the reclamation and closure plan for the mine.
