Introduction

A Closer Look: The Elk Valley

• Concerns Facing the Mining Industry

Taking Care of the Environment: Greenhills

Air Quality Control

Water Quality and Drainage Control

Testing Water Quality

Reclamation of Post-Mining Areas

Why Do Research?

Conclusion

A Closer Look: The Elk Valley

Let's look at the coal mines in the Elk Valley, in the southeastern corner of BC.

When plans to mine coal in this area became public in the late 1960’s, little was known about surface mine reclamation in this mountainous terrain. Important environmental issues were raised by the concerned public. The need to develop cost-effective measures to stabilize waste dumps, protect local watercourses and restore the forest resource and critical wildlife habitat was evident. The mines were committed to meet the challenge and have. Research has been conducted for over 30 years and has made a substantial contribution to the development of mine reclamation technology in British Columbia. The technology developed here is successfully applied at the mines where waste dumps and disturbed land are restored to productive commercial forest and wildlife habitat.

"Mountain Sheep on Hilltop"

Concerns facing the mining industry

Mining produces a lot of waste rock:

• The five Elk Valley coal mines produce 15 million tonnes of coal every year and from five to ten times as much waste rock. For example, for some mines with a strip ratio of 5:1, this means they would have to take out five times as much waste rock for every million tonnes of coal they produce.

• Open-pit mining cuts into the tops of mountains to get to the coal. Coal seams are then followed and cut deeper and deeper into the hillside until the mountain slowly changes shape. While mining disturbs the land temporarily, reclamation turns the land back into productive forests and wildlife ranges. Years of extensive reclamation research provide the tools to do the job effectively.
  
  
  "Benches at the mine during winter"

• The Elk Valley is home to many large animals including elk, moose, white tail deer and bighorn sheep. While elk are the most abundant, the lack of winter range is the limiting factor for elk population. Early research efforts focused on providing good quality winter range through reclamation. The mines now boast huge numbers of elk that have made these reclamation areas prime breeding ground. The mines also help support a very important grizzly and black bear population.

• At the mine site, a major environmental challenge involves the management and treatment of waste and effluent from the mining process. While waste rock is stored at designated sites to be reclaimed, coal is sent to the plant for processing. The waste from this process is called tailings. This slurry is pumped to a tailings pond, contained by dams and/or other carefully engineered structures. Effluent from a tailings pond is recycled to the plant or is treated to remove contaminants before the water is discharged into the local environment. The management and control of tailings, both during and after mining, is a prime responsibility of a mining company.
  
  
  "A Bird's Eye View of Fording Falls"

• Pollution and emissions are different things and they should not be confused. Pollution implies that something is negatively affected; we commonly use the term to mean that the environment has been harmed by man’s activity. Emissions, on the other hand, are materials released in the form of air or dust, liquid or solid waste which do not necessarily affect the environment unfavourably. Emissions can be benign, such as the release of treated water. Emissions from the mining process include waste rock and tailings, as well as effluent (liquid emissions). Managing these emissions is a priority for all mining companies. Laws governing the mining industry demand stringent operating guidelines in all aspects of emission management. As a result, mining emissions are prevented from becoming pollution generators.

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