For immediate release — Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Vancouver, BC — The Wilderness Committee and Friends of Clayoquot Sound (FOCS) stood together outside the AGM of Vancouver-based Imperial Metals and sent the mining company and its shareholders an unequivocal message: NO open-pit copper mine in Clayoquot Sound.
Environmentalists raised protest signs and banners and handed out information to company shareholders and the public in front of 550 Burrard Street, where Imperial Metals held its Annual General Meeting. The environmental groups are concerned that Imperial Metals' ongoing exploratory drilling on Catface Mountain, in the heart of Clayoquot Sound, could lead to an open-pit copper mine application by year’s end.
"We want to go on record about this potential open-pit copper mine now," said Wilderness Committee National Campaign Director Joe Foy. “There is no way we would not fight this as hard as we can. It's difficult to imagine a more polluting and destructive activity than open-pit copper mining.”
Imperial’s open-pit mine would blast the top off Catface Mountain, creating millions of tons of waste rock debris and toxic tailings sludge in the middle of the world renowned and ecologically sensitive Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A mine would be adjacent to wild salmon streams and rich ocean waters.
“Catface is just kilometers away from the villages of Tofino, Ahousat and Opitsat. The 24/7 noise, dust and toxics from an open-pit copper mine would make life unbearable,” stated Dan Lewis of FOCS.
In addition, a mine would need 80 to 110 megawatts of power, which could require many kilometres of power-line corridor to be cleared through the old-growth rainforests of Clayoquot Sound.
Imperial is fast-tracking Catface for mine development because its existing B.C. copper mines, Huckleberry and Mount Polley, are running out of ore, with Huckleberry set to close in 2012. “I can’t think of a less appropriate place for an open-pit mine,” said Dan Lewis. “We won’t let Imperial Metals mine the heart out of Clayoquot Sound.”
For more information about the protest at Imperial Metals' AGM or about the potential open-pit copper mine in Clayoquot Sound, contact:
Dan Lewis, Friends of Clayoquot Sound
office: 250-725-4218
Joe Foy, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
office: 604-683-8220
Friends of Clayoquot Sound
PO Box 489, 331 Neill St., Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
Tel: 250-725-4218 Fax: 250-725-2527
Email: info@focs.ca
Newsletters:
Fall 2009/Winter 2010 (4 Mb, PDF)
Summer 2009 (600k, PDF)
Maps:
Reports:
Overview of Logging in Clayoquot Sound 2000-2009 (download page)
Clayoquot Green Economic Opportunities Project, Vol. 1 (PDF, 1.3 MB)
Clayoquot Green Economic Opportunities Project Vol. 2 (PDF, 3.7 MB)
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