Incoming Email - 9/11/2025 - Timothy Fennell

To B.C Minister of Mines & IAAC,

Re: Reference #89694. Yellowhead copper project.

Hi my name is Tim Fennell.  I own part of a Ranch not far from this proposed mine.  I currently live on Haida Gwaii.

The future is hard to predict but the past is easy to see.  If we do not learn from our past we are doomed to repeat it.

The mining culture in B.C is one of pollution, habitat destruction, liquidation of non renewable resources for little return and no savings, & using public funded infrastructure (roads/ports and civil infrastructure such as water/sewer and accommodation) without adequately paying for them.

There are many examples of mine pollution with one of the worst being the mount poly disaster, which was predicable, in that changing climate patterns resulted in excessive water being stored behind a dam not designed for it, with a weak layer of material below it. ( A weak layer known by both the mine engineers and the chief B.C mining inspector).  I have a friend that ran a mine during that time and he had to contact the Minister of Mines to get his royalties quantified as the mine inspectors stopped visiting his mine.

I worked at a proposed mine near my home community on Haida Gwaii in the 1980's.   Had not wiser people than me opposed its approval it would now be liquidated and the public would be left trying to manage toxic run off for generations.  In all likelihood it would have killed the largest salmon producing river on Haida Gwaii. ( this is because the initial mining concept was for open pit in rock with high levels of Mercury and

arsenic.)

The closed Granisle mine near Houston B.C is another example of a ticking time bomb threatening the much larger Stikine and Skeena water sheds. ( there are many other examples like this across the country)

Dunn Lake near the proposed mine would have been totally dead during the operation of the concentrate plant beside the lake in the 1920's.  Had the scale of that mine been larger it could have wiped out salmon runs on the Thompson river.

 From what I understand, the prospector who discovered the mine ( on Baldy Mountain) also discovered the Uranium deposit near this proposed copper mine.  My understanding is that there has been logging on that deposit which would already be releasing some radioactive contaminants. There are hard to quantify tipping points for toxic elements in our environment where "acceptable levels" can compound to become dangerous to all life especially those at the top of the food chain.

We need to mine, but only those deposits that do not pass the costs to current or future generations.  There appears to be no attempt to create any legacy funds from the liquidation of non renewable resources to fund future cleanup costs or sustain infrastructure created to liquidate the non renewable resources. I would suggest the Gwaii Trust fund as a example of a fund that should be created in every region of the country, to leave something after the non renewable resources are gone and only taxpayer funded costs remain.

I live near and work on the Ocean.  The increasing levels of pollution in it should be a wake up call to everyone.  Every mine created on land should have some funds attached to ocean cleanup and monitoring.

I would appose this mine based on the lack of return on public investment, lack of laws, regulations and enforcement to make those accountable for pollution, pay.  Lack of a legacy fund at the end of the mines life.

This mine if approved should only be for a pilot project to see what the levels of pollution would be created and how they could be contained.

I would note that current federal and provincial legislation meant to ease approval of projects such as this, by easing regulations meant to protect our shared environment, are an infringement on all Canadians civil rights.  I think it is demonstrable that there already is a lack of any kind of enforcement of laws protecting our shared land, water and air from preventable industrial pollution.

Thanks for your time,