Paladin’s Fission Uranium takeover delayed by Canada security review
The takeover has faced several hurdles, including a delayed shareholder vote in August and opposition from Fission’s largest investor.
Canada’s largest diversified miner, Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK), is refuting claims by non-profit group Wildsight, which pegs the cost of cleaning up British Columbia’s Elk Valley River, polluted by toxic materials from the miner’s coal operations, at more than C$6.4 billion ($4.7 billion).
The report, commissioned by the Kootenay-based environmental organization, underscores a substantial disparity between the C$1.9 billion required by the province for Teck to reserve for emergency shutdowns and mine reclamation, and the projected expenses of the company’s initiatives to combat selenium pollution resulting from coal mining in BC’s Elk Valley.
Selenium, a naturally occurring element toxic to fish in high concentrations, has been seeping for decades from waste rock piles surrounding Teck’s coal mines.
Teck, in response to Reuters, said Wildsight’s estimates were inaccurate and inconsistent with calculations made under BC government policy.
“Their provisions with respect to capital spend do not align with BC government policy and their use of simplified assumptions overstate ongoing water treatment operating costs alone by 50-60%,” Dale Steeves, Teck’s director of stakeholder relations said.
The report, conducted by consulting firm Burgess Environmental, calculated the C$6.5 billion by assessing the costs of implementing Teck’s current plan, which involves constructing water treatment plants until 2027 and operating them for 60 years.
Since 2014, Teck has allocated over C$1.4 billion towards mitigating selenium concentrations, with plans to invest an additional $150 million to $250 million by the end of 2024.
The miner sold its coal assets to Glencore and two Asian steelmakers for $8.9 billion last year as it shifts its focus to critical metals like copper. The deal is pending approval from the Canadian government.
Glencore declined to comment on the report.
“We hope that both Glencore and the Canadian government will give careful consideration to this report as they assess the sale, ensuring accountability for the selenium crisis is upheld throughout the ownership transfer,” said Simon Wiebe, mining policy and impacts researcher at Wildsight.
(With files from Reuters)
