PORT MCNEILL, KAMLOOPS – The British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) presented its annual awards at the TRCR’s 43rd annual Mine Reclamation Symposium. Traditionally held in a different locale each year so that participants can experience first-hand mine reclamation in locations throughout BC, this years symposium was held online – attracting more than 350 attendees including practitioners ranging from biologists to engineers and geoscientists and representatives from Indigenous communities from throughout western Canada.
The Jake McDonald Annual Mine Reclamation Award was presented to Taseko’s Gibraltar Mine for its programs centred on collaborative research.
“The company was able to demonstrate innovation in techniques and in research that expand on insight into lesser studied ecological communities in reclamation,” noted awards subcommittee chair Tim Antill. “In addition, the company has demonstrated a collaborative approach with the local Indigenous community that pairs both traditional and scientific knowledge and communication.”
One area in which Gibraltar is being recognized is for is its research and programs related to the structural development of soil microbial communities, research that builds off the 45 years of reclamation at Gibraltar and includes partners including BCIT, Simon Fraser University and Mitacs. In addition, the company has demonstrated a collaborative approach with local Indigenous communities that pairs traditional and scientific knowledge and communication through the Fraser River Salmon Sampling Program, a partnership with Xatśūll First Nation and Northern Shuswap Tribal Council to assess the safety of eating fish caught at traditional sites.
Two companies received category awards. Port McNeill’s Orca Sand and Gravel received a Sand and Gravel Category Award based on its planning and implementation of reclamation including its consideration of climate change. Teck Metals Ltd. received a Metal Mining Category Award for the successful implementation of its Lower Mine Yard groundwater interception systems.
The TRCR is also pleased to announce its 2020 Jake McDonald Memorial Scholarship recipient. Keenan Baker, a Bachelor of Natural Resource Science student entering the fourth year of study at Thompson Rivers University, is conducting research on restoring native grass species to mine tailings sites that have been planted with aggressive growing agronomic vegetation.
