COMINCO AND THE ENVIRONMENT

For more than 60 years, Cominco Ltd. has been a leader in the research and development of environmental technology in the mining, smelting and refining industry. The company pioneered environmental control of sulphur emissions in the early 1930s with the construction of chemical and fertilizer plants at its metallurgical operations in Trail, B.C. which converted sulphur dioxide gas into agricultural and industrial chemicals. Today, that pioneering spirit remains an integral component of Cominco’s environmental policy.

Cominco has adopted the environmental policy of the Mining Association of Canada. The environmental performance of operations throughout the company is reviewed and reported on by a Corporate Environment Committee. Every effort is made to protect the environment at all of the company’s operations. Here are some examples of what Cominco is doing:

At the Trail metallurgical operations, the heart of Cominco, about $725 million has been spent since the late 1970s on modernization of the zinc and lead smelting plants, with emphasis on environmental protection. The ongoing modernization, along with continuous monitoring of air, allows for careful control of sulphur emissions. Stack emissions, atmospheric sensors and impending weather patterns in the Columbia Valley are monitored around the clock to ensure that operating plants meet emission standards. Cominco also monitors the Columbia River, which flows through Trail.

At the Sullivan mine and concentrator in southeastern British Columbia, extensive reclamation activity is already well under way, even though mining operations are expected to continue for another 10 years. One area that is being addressed is acid rock drainage. It is currently being chemically treated with a drainage collection system and treatment plant, which were constructed in 1979 at cost of $11 million. In the meantime, improvements are being made to seepage collection and preventing watercourses from being contaminated. Reclamation is expected to be completed within five years of the cessation of mining activity.