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Prairie Creek Mine

The Prairie Creek mine has never operated. It was originally developed in the 1980s as part of an ill-fated attempt by the Texas-based Hunt brothers to corner the world silver market. The mine was close to operating when, in 1982, the price of silver plummeted, the company went bankrupt, and the project was mothballed.

In 1991, Vancouver-based junior mining company, Canadian Zinc Corporation, took over the site and has been pushing to open a lead, zinc and silver mine at Prairie Creek ever since. Over the past five years, Canadian Zinc has been applying for and receiving a series of advanced exploration permits with the stated intent of opening the mine. There have been significant problems with the environmental assessment and permitting process for the Prairie Creek mine. Exploration and development activities have been considered in isolation from one another, and from the overall proposed mining operation. This fragmented, piecemeal approach to environmental assessment and regulatory review is often called “project splitting” and jeopardizes the effectiveness of the assessment process in protecting the environment.

In June, 2008 Canadian Zinc applied for permits and licenses to bring the proposed Prairie Creek mine into full operation. In August 2008 the project was sent to environmental assessment. CPAWS is participating in this environmental assessment and, as a first step, is pushing for the most comprehensive, thorough environmental assessment possible because of the proposed mine’s location within a globally significant wilderness area.

For more information about this environmental assessment, visit the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (MVEIRB) website.

Environmental Concerns

The mine site is in an unstable region with a high risk of earthquakes and flash flooding;
Mining can cause serious long-term damage to water quality through heavy metal leaching into waterways, and potential acid mine drainage;
A government study has already documented elevated zinc levels in the waters flowing into Prairie Creek;
The ores at Prairie Creek have high levels of mercury, arsenic and antimony – all of which have toxic properties;
Grizzly bears, Dall's sheep and woodland caribou frequent the area of the mine site and access road and would be vulnerable to disturbance;
Bull trout, a species in decline through much of its range and sensitive to stream disturbance, resides in Prairie Creek and its tributaries.
The proposed mine haul road to the site threatens the integrity of the Nahanni karst features, wildlife, the wilderness values of the Nahanni watershed, and could result in spills that would contaminate groundwater;
Once the park is expanded, the mine haul road will likely cross right through the national park, meaning heavy trucks would haul chemicals, fuel and metal concentrates across park lands.