Next year, when a shiny new gold mine opens in B.C., a Delta company is hoping to be part of the effort to ensure the wastewater produced meets the latest environmental standards.
McCue Engineering Contractors could have the inside track because it’s already been chosen to treat the sewage water produced at Artemis Gold’s Blackwater Mine site, 160 km southwest of Prince George.
Construction of the new mine is underway and the sewage treatment system is already operating
As of May, the construction camp has been completed and construction of the process building is well on its way, according to Artemis Gold’s website.
McCue though is just waiting for word that Artemis will choose the company to process the wastewater produced by the mine itself.
“If they decided to hire us, we’re going to be happy to do that,” CEO Chris McCue said.
The Blackwater Mine project is one of the largest in the area, and it’s not an easy thing to get permission to open a new mine.
“It takes a long, long time. If they can get through all the hoops and get a permit, it’s a pretty big deal,” McCue said.
The mine is expected to begin producing gold and silver by this time next year and should produce for at least 22 years.
“We’re really happy to be involved,” McCue said.
All mines in Canada are now required to treat wastewater, and often, the water that’s treated and discharged is cleaner than the water into which it’s being emptied, he points out.
McCue Engineering Contractors, which employs about 25 people, builds modular treatment systems at its Delta operation, all of which can be stuffed into containers for easy transport. The company has had a good success rate with other wastewater projects it’s constructed, he added.
The company is also featured in a video series titled Redefining Mining, produced by the Mining Suppliers Association of B.C.
“McCue Engineering Contractors of Delta builds state-of-the-art modular, containerized water treatment plants that can be sent anywhere to ensure mine-affected water is treated before being released back into the environment. Their PANAQUA modules are custom designed to address different types of water treatment needs, from general camp wastewater treatment to removing site-specific contaminants like selenium,” said Alec Morrison, CEO of the Mining Suppliers Association of B.C.
McCue Engineering has already provided mine water treatment at Barkerville Gold Mines location in Wells, B.C., in 2020.
In addition to several other projects, it also completed construction of a partially built water treatment plant at the abandoned Faro Mine, in the Yukon.
Faro, which closed in 1998, was once the largest open pit lead-zinc mines in the world, according to Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. The ministry describes Faro as one of the most complex abandoned mine remediation projects in Canada.
That project was launched to prevent contamination of water and land from the former mine.
McCue said that many investors will no longer fund projects unless they have good environmental-social-governance policies.
“I think it’s the future,” McCue said. “I think the objective should be that everybody catches up to whoever is the leader in that regard. I think Canada is doing a pretty good job of that.”
