As the glaciers retreat, the gold mine advances. Why are some locals angry?

A small Canadian mining company, Canagold, is seeking permits and approvals to renew its gold mining operations at a remote site in northwestern British Columbia (BC). He called New Polaris Mineit faces opposition from First Nations, environmental nonprofits and downstream Alaska communities.

In 1957, Tolisco Main Mine Production of gold, copper, lead and zinc ceased after six years of short operations. Its legacy has since made it notorious: Over the past seven decades, the main Tolsqua mine has leaked mineral-filled runoff called acid mine drainage into the icy waters of the Tolsqua River. Despite repeated calls from Locals Environmentalists and government Promiseshas acid mine drainage yet To be cleaned. Amid this ongoing environmental pollution, the new Polaris mine enters the picture.

Like the now-abandoned Main Tulsqua Mine, the New Polaris Mine is located on the Tulsqua River, which then flows into the Taku River, crosses the Alaska border near Juneau, and eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Taku watershed extends 18,000 square kilometers It is an area of ​​undeveloped wilderness, an area approximately the size of the state of New Jersey. It is home to all five Pacific species salmonwhich maintains the watershed’s rich ecosystem, and has long formed an essential part of the livelihood of the Tlingit peoples of the Taku River.

Canagold first announced its plans to revamp operations at New Polaris in March 2023. It has done so since creature Project description and receipt consent Moving forward with the environmental assessment process from the British Columbia government. Since January 2025, it has been preparing its BC Environmental Assessment application – a process that can take months or even years.

Consult with Share Countries of origin are included in this evaluation process. For the new Polaris mine, this requires bi-weekly conferences and meetings with the Tlingit First Nation peoples of the Taku River. Because it falls on provinceThe astrologer cannot work without their free and prior consent. The Taku River Tlingit Tribe “is leading the way when it comes to relationships with mining companies,” Jenek, spokesman for the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, said in a news release. “Consent agreements begin with our nation and our people.” March 2023 press release.

But while the Kanagold and Taku River Tlingit were involved in the discussions, other communities, located downstream and across the international border, did not have the same voice. Jay Archibald, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Boundary Crossing Commission, which includes 15 First Nations Member tribes Across the Taku River watershed, GlacierHub said: “We are thrilled to be working with them [the Taku River Tlingit]“But we are the only downstream communities and we are not adequately consulted.”

This committee is the latest in a long A line of downstream Alaskans are fighting for more recognition of cross-border mining pollution in Canada. While the border between the United States and Canada complicated the mission of groups in Alaska efforts To be heard, mining pollution does not respect these lines.

in era Due to the loss of the species, the environmental threat posed by New Polaris is compounded by the potential growth of salmon in the Taku River in the coming decades. In one of the rare silver linings of climate change, as the glaciers of Alaska and Canada melt, they are providing new and valuable things. Home For Pacific salmon.

2021 He studies It is projected that in the moderate emissions scenario, more than 3,700 miles of salmon habitat will be created by melting ice by 2100. Jonathan Mooreauthor of the study and an aquatic ecologist at Simon Fraser University, He said GlacierHub reports that the melting of the Tulusqua Glacier could see some of the largest increases in salmon habitat. Now, New Polaris puts a key location for that expansion at risk.

As Archibald said, “All mines of any size that are close to salmon habitat are harmful to salmon.” But here in particular, the history of the major Tolsqua mine and other environmental disasters BC Mines It looms large. New Polaris “is located in an area prone to acid rock drainage,” he said. Adrian Berchtoldan ecologist and researcher of mining impacts at the salmon conservation nonprofit SkeenaWild, and its choppy, braided waterways make it difficult to monitor mine impacts such as pollution and habitat destruction.

To build the mine, Canagold proposes between 40 and 70 barge trips up the Taku River each season. But such harassment plans are “extremely dangerous, and any incident would harm some of the best wild salmon spawning habitat in the world,” Brenna Walker, director of Salmon Beyond Borders, said in a December press release. Canagold also plans to build a mile-long landing strip at nearby Flannigan Slough, the largest wetland in the Taku watershed.

Beyond Canagold’s plans, environmental groups also don’t trust B.C.’s environmental assessment protocol. “BC loves to advertise its ‘world-class standards’ for environmental assessment and auditing,” Berchtold told GlacierHub. But SkeenaWild found “numerous loopholes” in the province’s protocol for mining reviews. “It is not uncommon for projects to be rejected in the environmental assessment process, as almost all projects are eventually approved,” Berchtold added.

The new Polaris is still facing Obstacles. But opponents fear that will happen Steamer they. BC has Simplified Mining permits and priority Infrastructure development For vital minerals such as copper and zinc, which are essential for clean energy. In January Canagold Announce Its decision also to mine antimony, an important mineral used in batteries and semiconductors, at New Polaris. Although the economics have yet to be determined, Canagold is now positioning the project as a gold and antimony mine. New Polaris can He rides Critical mineral waveusing this simplification to his advantage.

Many ecologists see this as Star To push the project through. ‘There are real risks to’Fast trackingIt “cuts the red tape” in the era of Trump’s tariffs and moves priority projects forward, Nikki Scuse, director of the North Confluence Initiative and co-chair of the BC Mining Law Reform Network, warned in an interview with GlacierHub.

In its latest move, Canagold has released a Feasibility studyWhich indicates its commitment to start production. It indicated how profitable the New Polaris project could be, with an after-tax value of US$312 million, with an expected base price of US$2,500 per gold ounce. For those nearby, the eight-year project is set to create about 200 good-paying jobs. But this discouraged people, especially those living downstream, from the project. “This is a gold mine whose primary uses are vanity and greed,” Archibald asserted.

“Too often, environmental assessments rely on a wait-and-see approach,” Berchtold explained. But environmentalists and downstream Alaskans have run out of patience. Advocacy Groups Continuing to advocate for mining reform, while the Southeast Alaska Native Tribal Commission did so foot Human rights case against the government of British Columbia at the Inter-American Council on Human Rights over a separate transboundary mine.

like Jennifer Angel Amaya“Communities must be equipped with the tools, resources, and support needed to protect their lands from bad practices, take a proactive role in protecting their lands, and promote long-term resilience,” a gold mining researcher and graduate student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Columbia Climate School, told GlacierHub.

Although New Polaris is only one mine, with the glaciers receding and mineral-rich land increasing… available For mining companies, the friction in British Columbia between gold and salmon may intensify, a local manifestation of the tension raised by extractive economies in the age of climate change.

This story is republished with permission from the Earth Institute at Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.