An expert says a proposal to clean up mining debris on Mount Sicker will produce a environmental rebirth.
According to Sasquatch Resources CEO Peter Smith, the site was once a mining facility and due to inefficiencies in managing waste, the site has left a significant lasting impact.
“The waste can create some acid run off and other contaminants from the high sulfide in these piles,” he says. “We got the idea to clean it up because there are good grades of copper, silver and zinc. We could also remove the environmental hazards while we’re at it.”
Smith says the process to clean up the mining site would be simple and would only take a year to complete and with more than 200 mining sites waiting to be cleaned up in B.C. it could have a huge impact across the province.
“We go up there (mining sites) and crush the old waste and sort it,” he says. “Then we take the ‘high-grade stuff’, which is also environmentally hazardous, down the mountain and sell it. And when you consider the vast number of mines, as well as the economic factor, it could be a great start for the economy.”
Smith says he anticipates the project could start in spring 2027, depending on permits.
Once work on Mount Sicker is complete, Smith says the next project for reclamation will be Blue Grouse on the south bank of Lake Cowichan.
