Mt. Polley Mine, site of Canada’s worst spill, is back in limited operation and seeking permits to return to full operation as one expert forecasts a dozen similar, serious failures by 2020 that could cost upward of $6 billion in damages.
In August 2014, Mt. Polley, a gold-andcopper mine owned by Imperial Metals Corp., Vancouver, dumped 4.5 billion gallons of water and 10.3 million cu yd of tailings and construction waste into Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake, which feeds into British Columbia’s Fraser River, endangering the area’s drinking water and, possibly, waters where salmon spawn.