B.C. mine museum helps celebrate World Rivers Day

The Britannia Mine Museum, (located on the Sea-to-Sky Highway near Squamish, B.C.) together with the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC, and the Squamish River Watershed Society, recently hosted a BC Rivers Day Celebration.

The event included exhibits and presentations from a number of local interest groups and biologists, along with tours of the nearby EPCOR water treatment plant.

The Britannia Mine was first opened in 1904 and throughout its 70-year history; mining activities had an environmental impact on Howe Sound due to acid rock drainage. In 2001, the Province of BC worked with stakeholders, including the Britannia Mine Museum, with the goal of establishing a water treatment plant to deal with the mine’s acid rock drainage. The end result was a public/ private partnership with EPCOR to build and operate a water treatment plant.

The EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant uses natural materials to filter minerals and neutralize surface water runoff collected from the mine and surrounding community. Water is collected at the plant, treated with a mixture of lime and water, and then fed into a large ‘clarifier’ tank where a customized, man-made polymer is added. This electro-statically attracts metal particles, forming clumps that sink through their own weight, creating a dense sludge at the bottom of the tank. Once removed, clean water flows into Howe Sound.

More information on Britannia Mine Museum’s environmental story is available at www.britanniaminemuseum.ca/history/environment.html

Editor’s Note: The Britannia Mine Museum is well worth a visit and its walking and train tour of the mine is one of the more informative and authentic looks at underground mining in Canada.