How miners are dealing with Canada’s extreme wildfire season

It seems that few parts of Canada will be spared from the unusually disruptive and destructive wildfire season now well under way. The blazes started in B.C. and Alberta in March, with Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario getting hit starting in late May.

While wildfires are regular occurrences across much of Canada, this year they have displaced tens of thousands of people — including in some cases, entire towns (Chibougamau, Lebel-sur-Quévillon).

Figures from SOPFEU, Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency, attest to the season’s premature and severe start. At press time, the province had seen a total of 458 fires as of mid-June, compared to the 10-year average of 238 at this time of year. The total area burned at that point was 9,930.7 sq. km, a huge swath of land compared to the 10-year average of just 76.5 sq. km, measured at the same mid-year point of 2022.

Across Canada on June 19, there were 421 active fires blazing, with more than 200 deemed out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

The scale and intensity of the fires have prompted a multi-jurisdictional and international effort. The all-hands-on-deck response has not only seen local and provincial firefighting forces and federal resources spring into action, but hundreds of firefighters and supporting personnel flying in from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, France, Costa Rica and Chile to help beat back the flames.

The fires in Quebec have put both mining and exploration activities in the province at risk. More than a dozen mining companies, ranging from operating mines (such as Hecla Mining’s Casa Berardi), and developers (Osisko Mining) to exploration companies (such as Patriot Battery Metals) have had to temporarily suspend operations and evacuate their people.

The situation in Quebec was easing somewhat at press time, with about 100 active fires compared with 160 in early June. However, the fires remain unpredictable — and it’s still early in the season, which doesn’t end until October. On June 20, for example, five days after announcing it would restart its Casa Berardi mine following a June 6 suspension, Hecla said it would once again need to suspend operations.

Expert emergency planners

Thankfully, miners are expert planners for emergencies — including natural disasters such as wildfires.

EY Canada’s Mining Health and Safety leader, Rana Labban says that applies to both mining operations and smaller exploration outfits.

All companies go through very rigorous risk assessment and risk management processes before setting up a site, Labban says. They identify the types of risks they could fac, such as natural disasters, what they need to protect (people, assets), and what resources are available to them including infrastructure and local emergency services.

“The first thing that comes to all the executives’ minds is safeguarding their people — health and safety,” Labban says. “When we have people (onsite), we need to derisk the operation. So if the context is that the organization is smaller, are they exploring within a larger area with a lot of explorers, or are they a remote site with a small team?” she says. “They look at opportunities to improve their emergency response and emergency evacuation scenarios. So if there’s a group of people, even if it’s different companies, they usually come to [a] mutual aid type of arrangement where they would support each other in an evacuation.”

Maple Gold is one of the companies that’s been able to help the firefighting efforts this year, said CEO Matthew Hornor from the VID Mining conference in Quebec City on June 19. The company has hosted about 30 firefighters on and off at its camp in the Abitibi, north of Val-d’Or.

The junior hasn’t been affected by the fires and Hornor believes Maple is well prepared for emergencies. “We have a no fire policy in the bush at all times anyway, our housing is elevated and not surrounded by shrubs or trees,” he said, adding that personnel are mindful that they’re in the middle of nature and not to “do anything silly” that could get them in trouble.

However, the scale and intensity of the fires does give Hornor pause. “It’s not that far away from us — they have a big job on their hands,” he said.

While the wildfire situation this year is extreme by any account, Theo Yameogo, EY Americas and Canada Mining & Metals leader, notes wildfires themselves are not a new hazard for miners.

“When I worked in Saskatchewan, once a year, we would have to shut down for a couple of days, just for precautionary purposes because the fires in northern Saskatchewan would come close to the main site,” he said, adding that companies also work in extreme conditions, such as the sub-Arctic.

Although companies are prepared to deal with emergencies, governments may need to provide extra aid in some situations.

“I think where government can come in is when it’s extreme or severe… Just like what happened with Covid. Because it’s super critical for the economy,” Yameogo said.

One thing we may see next year is an increased focus and spending on fire prevention, compared to this year’s necessary focus on fire suppression.

An OECD report published in May, Taming Wildfires in the Context of Climate Change, notes that spending on the latter remains up to six times higher than on prevention.

Companies may also start to disclose more of the climate risks they are already assessing as part of their risk management processes, as well as to qualify for insurance. Disclosure is also encouraged by the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, which are being adopted by more companies.

“Climate risk disclosure is not mandatory, but rapidly becoming an expectation of key stakeholders,” Kent Kaufield, EY Canada ESG Markets leader & chief sustainability officer, told The Northern Miner in an email.

“We are seeing an increasing number of companies proactively disclose more details around climate and/or natural disaster risks. We anticipate TCFD will be more frequently leveraged to help companies disclose climate-related opportunities and risks moving forward.”