Native-plant project wins B.C. award
A native-plant restoration program at coal mines west of Crowsnest Pass has received provincial recognition for its approach to reclaiming disturbed land.
Elk Valley Resources and Nupqu Resource Limited Partnership received the Steelmaking Coal Mine Reclamation Award during the 49th annual B.C. Mine Reclamation Symposium in Fort St. John on Sept. 23.
The award recognized a partnership that uses plants grown from wild seed collected throughout the Elk Valley to restore areas affected by mining.
Nupqu collects the seed and maintains a growing seedbank supporting EVR’s reclamation work. Plant species are selected to match the conditions at individual reclamation sites, with the goal of returning native vegetation and supporting biodiversity.
More than 60 different plant species are collected each year, according to the award organizers. More than eight million seedlings have been planted since 2022.
Nupqu is a First Nation-owned land and resource management company belonging to the four communities of the Ktunaxa Nation. The company operates a native-plant nursery near Cranbrook and has offices in Fernie, Cranbrook, Castlegar and near the ʔaq̓am community.
In addition to supplying plants, the partnership has created economic and employment opportunities for Ktunaxa communities while developing new approaches to collecting, propagating and planting native species.
The work is taking place at EVR’s four operating steelmaking coal mines in southeastern British Columbia: Elkview, Fording River, Greenhills and Line Creek. The mines are located near Sparwood and Elkford, immediately west of Crowsnest Pass.
EVR employs approximately 5,500 people across its Elk Valley operations. Glencore acquired a majority interest in the company in 2024 and now holds a 77 per cent stake, with Nippon Steel Corporation holding 20 per cent and POSCO holding three per cent.
The planting program is one part of the reclamation and environmental work required at the mines. B.C. mine permits include site-specific reclamation plans, land and water protection requirements and annual reporting obligations.
Companies must also provide financial security intended to cover reclamation costs if they are unable to complete the work. The amount is determined using the remaining reclamation and environmental liabilities at each site.
Progressive reclamation allows portions of disturbed land to be restored while a mine remains in operation, rather than leaving all reclamation work until the mine closes.
The award does not cover EVR’s broader water-quality responsibilities in the Elk Valley. The company remains subject to separate provincial requirements for source control, water treatment, monitoring and the management of substances including selenium, nitrate and calcite.
Other awards presented during the symposium included the Jake McDonald Annual Reclamation Award, which went to BHP Canada for its continuing work at the former Island Copper Mine near Port Hardy. The mine closed in 1995, but reclamation, monitoring and water-management work continues more than 30 years later.
Glenda Ferris received a Special Tribute Award for more than four decades of work in mine reclamation. Matthew Barnette, Jess Rodgers and Amanda Schoonmaker received the Tony Milligan Book Award for a paper examining reclamation at the Site C hydroelectric project.
Thompson Rivers University student Rabeya Shikdar Orpa received the Jake McDonald Scholarship for research into the use of native plants in post-mining environments. University of British Columbia doctoral student Can Zhang received the symposium’s poster award for research using machine learning to predict drainage from mine waste rock and assess the effects of climate change.
More than 250 people attended the symposium, including engineers, biologists, mine workers, Indigenous representatives and students.
The B.C. Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation has held the symposium since the 1970s. Its membership includes representatives from government, the mining industry, Indigenous communities, universities and colleges.