BHP wins BC reclamation award for 30-year Island Copper Mine cleanup

BHP, the world’s largest mining company, has received the BC Technical Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) Annual Reclamation Award for its sustained work on the former Island Copper Mine near Port Hardy, British Columbia. The award recognizes three decades of monitoring and reclamation efforts at the site, which was in operation between 1971 and 1995. The mine’s main pit spiraled down over 1,320 feet, touching the deepest point reached by the Sun on Earth, and extracted over 1 billion tons of ore containing copper, silver, gold, molybdenum, and rhenium.

At its peak, the mine employed 900 local residents, transforming Port Hardy into a flourishing town of 5,000 people. After the orebody was exhausted, BHP implemented a sophisticated reclamation plan. The company flooded the pit with seawater to form a stratified lake, a novel system at the time that allowed acid rock drainage to be injected into oxygen-depleted bottom waters for neutralization. Since May 2001, BHP has modified this approach by fertilizing the surface waters every 7–10 days to stimulate plankton blooms. These blooms absorb contaminant heavy metals and oxygen, sinking to the bottom to prevent mineral oxidation.

"BHP has continued to support its reclamation through ongoing monitoring, adaptive management, and improvements to the site’s water management infrastructure," the TRCR stated. The committee noted that these efforts have strengthened environmental protection, enhanced the long-term reliability of the Pit Lake treatment system, and reduced worker safety risks. The initiative also improved resilience to extreme weather and power outages through remote capabilities. This recognition highlights the importance of long-term environmental stewardship in mining, a sector that remains a backbone of Canada’s economy.

Why it matters: Long-term reclamation ensures that mining sites are returned to productive use, protecting local ecosystems and communities decades after operations cease.

Editor's note: The draft uses the source material well, though it includes a slightly hyperbolic description of the mine depth that mirrors the source's own phrasing.