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Canadian miner Teck's Elk Valley tidy up might cost a minimum of C$ 6.4 bln, environment group says

The expense of cleansing British Columbia's (B.C.) Elk Valley river from the toxic products released by Teck Resources' coal mining could be at least C$ 6.4 billion ($ 4.7 billion), a report released by notforprofit group Wildsight on Tuesday said.

Selenium, a naturally happening aspect that is hazardous to fish in high concentrations, has been seeping for decades from the stacks of waste rock surrounding Canadian miner Teck's coal mines. The coal is used for making steel.

Teck has actually reserved a bond of C$ 1.9 billion towards Elk Valley operations, in line with the B.C. government's. requirement for miners to pay for any future damage arising from. their work.

However the report commissioned by Vancouver-based Wildsight. found the amount reserved by Teck was insufficient and. underplayed the issue caused by selenium contamination.

In an email action to , Teck stated Wildsight's. price quotes were inconsistent and unreliable with calculations. made under B.C. government policy.

Their provisions with respect to capital invest do not line up. with B.C. government policy and their usage of streamlined. assumptions overemphasize continuous water treatment operating expense. alone by 50-60%. stated Dale Steeves, director of stakeholder. relations, Teck Resources.

The report, finished by seeking advice from company Burgess. Environmental Ltd, stated it reached the C$ 6.5 billion figure by. calculating what it would cost to execute Teck's existing plan. of constructing water treatment plants to 2027 and run them for. 60 years.

Teck has spent more than C$ 1.4 billion because 2014 to deal with. the selenium concentration and it plans to even more invest $150. million to $250 million by the end of 2024.

In 2015, Teck offered its coal company to a consortium led. by Swiss miner Glencore for $9 billion, as the Canadian. miner moves its focus to important metals such as copper. The. offer is awaiting Canadian government approval.

Glencore prepares to spin-off the coal mines into a separately. noted company following closure of the deal.

Glencore did not comment on the report.

We hope that both Glencore and the Canadian federal government will. pay attention to this report as they think about the sale, to. ensure responsibility for the selenium crisis is kept. throughout the transfer of ownership, said Simon Wiebe, mining. policy and impacts researcher at Wildsight.

(source: Reuters)