The British Columbia Government has ordered Artemis Gold, a Canadian mining company, to remove a construction worker camp near its Blackwater project by the end of this month after not complying with environmental guidelines.
Canada’s BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has directed the company to dismantle a workers’ camp 110km south of Vanderhoof, western Canada, by 31 August.
The office discovered the company was not approved to construct or operate the camp along an electrical transmission corridor outside the mine site.
The order to remove the camp located at the Chu site was issued to the Blackwater Gold Project, an open-pit gold and silver mine owned by Artemis Gold, after an on-site inspection on 14 May.
According to the inspection record, the uncertified facility housed Blackwater Gold transmission line construction workers from April onwards and had at least 48 accommodation units, three generators and potable water storage.
The Blackwater environmental permit allows for a construction camp for up to 1,000 employees and an operational camp for up to 500 individuals within the mine site.
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The mining company said in March 2023 that Artemis Gold received approval to construct the camp from the Mines, Competitiveness and Authorisations Division of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
According to the EAO, the certificate holder’s [Artemis ] email explicitly stated the intention to use the camp at the Chu Site as an overflow camp for mine construction workers. The email also indicated that the camp at the site was not considered in construction plans, suggesting that the use of the camp was not included in the environmental assessment for the project.
During the inspection, site representatives mentioned that the original Chu Site camp was demolished, and the holder constructed a new camp facility to house Blackwater Gold workers, as mentioned in the inspection report.
Artemis noted that employees from the Chu site have been transferred to the main camp, which must be relocated by 6pm local time on 31 August.
