KSM Briefer #5: Unprecedented Water Quality Challenges

The Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project, owned by Seabridge Gold Inc., is a large-scale gold-copper-silver mine proposed for northwest British Columbia. Targeting a massive low-grade sulfide ore deposit, the mine is situated within the headwaters of the Bell-Irving tributary of the Nass River and the Unuk River, which ultimately flows into the Misty Fjords National Monument in Southeast Alaska. Seabridge Gold has described KSM as one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold-copper projects measured by reserves.

KSM will require ongoing, potentially perpetual, water treatment measures. According to page 100 of the June 2014, KSM Project Assessment Report the mine will implement "the largest and most complex water management and water treatment system ever proposed for a British Columbia mine project," presenting significant challenges for implementation. The proposed water treatment throughput of up to 119,000 gallons per minute and a mean rate of 34,870 gallons per minute is unprecedented within the context of mining wastewater management.

Read the full KSM Briefer #5 here.