string(10) "[Minerals]"

Critical Minerals and Metals in BC Mine Tailings and Waste Rock

Lead Researcher(s):  N.D. Barlow

Project ID:  2022-005

Key Research Organization(s):  Purple Rock Inc.

Project Location:  British Columbia

Strategic Focus Area:  Mineral

Summary



We are seeking corporate, community and Indigenous funding and in-kind partners for the next phases of this program, with potential benefits including early data access and direct input into future research. To set up a meeting or for more information, email info@geosciencebc.com. (Subject: Interest in Geoscience BC Critical Minerals and Metals in BC Mine Tailings and Waste Rock program)


The transition to a net-zero emissions economy requires significant inventories of critical minerals and metals. This demand is driving innovative approaches to geoscience research and to mineral exploration and development. Tailings and waste rock from current and legacy mining operations in British Columbia may host economic concentrations of critical minerals and metals which could provide a boost to local economies.  

The Critical Minerals and Metals in British Columbia Mine Tailings and Waste Rock program aims to assess tailings and waste rock to highlight opportunities to extract further value from these mining by-products and address potential environmental liabilities. The program will provide industry, communities and Indigenous groups with key data to inform decision-making and guide actions around investment in critical mineral exploration and development. The Association for Mineral Exploration and Mining Association of BC (MABC) support the program and Geoscience BC is working with industry, academic, Indigenous and other partners to secure further support for future activities, which could include laboratory and field-scale studies at select locations.  

Initial work has produced a high-level inventory of existing geological data related to current and legacy sites across the province and linked it with key information such as infrastructure. The first phase research funders are Foresight Canada, Arca, New Gold Inc. and Geoscience BC, with program support from the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals Abandoned Mines Branch. 

The Need

Critical minerals and metals are essential to Canada’s economic security and are the foundation upon which technology and a transition to a net-zero emissions economy are built. The ability for these resources to be sourced from neighbouring or partner jurisdictions can also help mitigate the risk of global supply chain disruption.  

The potential of tailings and waste rock from producing or past-producing mines to provide an economic resource would provide Canada with additional critical minerals and metals. For any past-producing mine that proves viable, it could also turn mining by-products from an environmental liability into an asset.  

Project Goals

This program fits under Geoscience BC’s Strategic Objective of ‘Identifying New Natural Resource Opportunities’.

Project Benefits

By evaluating sites across BC that have potential for further exploration for economically viable deposits of critical minerals and metals, this program will support foundational mineral exploration and development research that will further provincial and federal net-zero emissions economy goals. 

The program is expected to attract critical mineral and metal investment to BC by demonstrating research innovation, while also boosting collaboration between First Nations, governments, industry, academia and communities. Through collaboration, research expertise and capacity will be expanded, with broader engagement within the mineral exploration, extraction and minerals processing industries.  

Location

The first phase is a province-wide desktop study.

Geoscience BC encourages anyone planning exploration work to first contact Indigenous groups in the area. The Province of British Columbia’s Consultative Areas Database can help with this (https://maps.gov.bc.ca/ess/hm/cadb/). The Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) also produces an Indigenous Engagement Guidebook. 

What Was Found

Purple Rock has drawn together existing datasets characterizing mineral occurrences, geographic, environmental and infrastructure data. From these sources, they used key metrics to identify mines, deposits and occurrences judged to have the highest critical mineral potential; these occurrences were the focus of a targeted document review to identify and describe related mine waste. The result of this phase of the project is a geospatial dataset containing the location and known characteristics of tailings and waste rock from more than 500 current and legacy mining occurrences with potential for critical minerals. The geospatial dataset also includes information relating to an additional 2000 occurrences that may have waste material of interest. 

Safety Warning: Entering a mine that is abandoned or operational can pose a serious risk to safety. Do not enter abandoned mine adits.