As the glacier retreats, the gold mine develops. Why are some locals angry?

CanaGold, a small Canadian mining company, is seeking permits and approvals to renew gold mining operations at a remote site in northwestern British Columbia (BC). Dubbed the New Polaris Mine, it faces opposition from First Nations, environmental nonprofits and downstream Alaskan communities.

In 1957, the Tulsoha Chief Mine ceased production of gold, copper, lead and zinc after a short life of six years. Its legacy has since tarnished it: For the past seven decades, the Tulsuh Chief Mine has leaked a corrosive, mineral-laden effluent called acid mine drainage into the icy waters of the Tulsuh River. Despite repeated calls from local people and environmentalists and government promises, acid mine drainage cannot be cleaned yet. In the midst of this ongoing environmental pollution, Polaris’ new mine is entering the picture.

Like the now-abandoned Tulsoha Chief Mine, the new Polaris mine sits on the Tulsoha River, which then flows into the Tuku River, crosses the Alaska border near Juneau, and eventually enters the Pacific Ocean. The Taku watershed has more than 18,000 square kilometers of undeveloped wilderness, an area about the size of New Jersey. It is home to all five species of Pacific salmon, which sustain the watershed’s rich ecosystem and have long formed an important part of the livelihood of the Tuku River Tlingit people.

Canagold first announced its plans to renew operations at New Polaris in March 2023. The project has since been detailed and received approval from the BC provincial government to proceed with the environmental assessment process. As of January 2025, he is preparing his application for the BC Environmental Assessment. This is a process that can take months or even years.

Consultations with participating indigenous countries have been developed in this evaluation process. For the new Polaris mine, this includes bi-weekly conferences and meetings with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation Peoples. Since it sits on their territory, the mine cannot operate without their free and prior consent. In a March 2023 press release, Taku River Tlingit First Nation spokesman Junk remarked that “mining company relations” were leading the way to mining company relations.

But while the Canagold and River Tuku Tlingit are engaged in debate, other communities, located further downstream and across the international border, have not had a voice. Guy Archibald, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Native Transboundary Commission, which is made up of 15 First Nations members across the river’s watershed, told Glacier Hub: “We’re glad they’re working. [the Taku River Tlingit]but we are the only downstream community and we are not being properly consulted. “

The commission is the latest in a long line of downstream Alaskan calls for further recognition of transboundary mining pollution in Canada. Although the US/Canada border has complicated the efforts of Alaskan groups to be heard, mining pollution does not respect these lines.

In an era of species loss, the ecological threat posed by the New Polaris is intensified by the potential growth of Tuco River salmon in the coming decades. In a rare silver lining to climate change, as glaciers melt in Alaska and Canada, they provide new, valuable habitat for Pacific salmon.

A 2021 study predicted that under a moderate emissions scenario, more than 3,700 miles of salmon habitat would be lost by 2100. Jonathan Moore, a study and aquatic ecologist at Simon Fraser University, told Glacier Hub that the Toleransa glacier may see the largest increase in melt. Now, New Polaris risks a major site for this expansion.

As Archibald said, “All mines of any size near salmon habitat are harmful to salmon.” But here in particular, the Tulsoha Chief Mine and other environmentally destructive BC mines have a big history. An ecologist and mining impacts with the salmon conservation nonprofit Scanveld, and its fickle, suspended waterways, make it difficult to monitor mining impacts such as pollution and habitat destruction.

For mine construction, Canagold recommends 40 to 70 seed trips per season. But the barring “puts the project at greater risk, and an accident would damage some of the world’s best wild salmon habitat,” Brianna Walker, director of Frontiers for Salmon, said in a December press release. Canagold’s plan also calls for a mile-long landing strip in the nearby, pristine Flanigan Slough, the largest wetland in the Tuco watershed.

Beyond Canagold’s plans, environmental groups are also distrustful of B.C.’s environmental assessment protocol. “BC likes to tout its ‘world-class standards’ for environmental assessment and evaluation,” Berchtold told GlacierHub. But Scaniawald has found “numerous loopholes” in the province’s protocol for mining reviews. “It’s very unusual for projects to be rejected in the environmental assessment process. All are ultimately approved,” added Berchtold.

The new Polaris still faces hurdles. But opponents fear it will steamroll them. BC has streamlined mining permits and prioritized infrastructure development for key minerals like copper and zinc, which are key to clean energy. In January, CanaGold announced its decision to also phase out antimony, a key mineral used in batteries and semiconductors, at NeoPolaris. Although the economics are still uncertain, Canagold is now positioning the project as a gold interest. The new Polaris can ride the critical mineral wave by using it to smooth it out.

Many environmentalists see this as a cover to push the project forward. In an interview with GlacierHub, Nikki Esco, director of the Northern Singularity Initiative and co-chair of the BC Mining Law Reform Network, warned that “there are real dangers of ‘fast-tracking’ and ‘biting red tape’ in this era of Trump tariffs.”

In its latest move, Canagold released a feasibility study, signaling its commitment to early production. It indicated how profitable the new Polaris project, with an after-tax cost of US$312 million, could be based on a forecast gold price of US$2,500 an ounce. For those approaching, the eight-year project is also set to offer 200 well-paying jobs. But that hasn’t warmed people, especially downstream, to the project. “It is a gold mine whose principal uses are vanity and greed,” asserted Archibald.

“Too often, environmental assessments are based on a wait-and-see approach,” explained Berchtold. “But environmentalists and downstream Alaskans are getting restless. Advocacy groups have called for mining reform, while the Southeast Alaska Native Tribal Commission has filed a human rights claim against the BC government for a separate transboundary mine at the Inter-American Council of the Humane.”

As part of the Columbia Climate School, Jennifer Angel Amaya, a gold mining researcher and graduate student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, told Glacier Hub: “Communities must be equipped with their land, their resources, and their territory must be protected in their region.

Although the new Polaris is just one mine, as glaciers recede and more mineral-rich land becomes available to mining corporations, the friction in BC between gold and salmon can only intensify—a local manifestation of the tensions created by extractive economies in an era of climate change.

This story is published courtesy of the Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu