The B.C. government is to announce an independent panel of experts will investigate the Mount Polley tailings dam collapse, perhaps as early as Monday.

The government is also expected to announce that the chief inspector of mines will order mines to arrange an “extraordinary independent inspection” of approximately 60 mine waste sites, according to a memo from the Mining Association of B.C. to its directors and mine managers, which was obtained by The Vancouver Sun.

There have been calls for an independent review of the tailings dam breach in central B.C. from area residents, First Nations, environmental groups and the NDP.

B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett has said for at least a week that he would announce soon how the province planned to do a wider examination of the Aug. 4 tailings dam collapse. Asked about the memo, his ministry said Friday the government has already indicated the need for an independent review.

Ministry officials said it’s important that any new investigations work in concert with existing probes by the chief inspector of mines and the Environment Ministry’s Conservation Office Service.

In a memo to more than 70 mining directors and mine managers, entitled “confidential update,” Mining Association of B.C. president Karina Brino said the association had learned in “strict confidence” that the government intends to announce its investigation plan, likely on Monday.

The memo says the independent panel would include experts in the field of geotechnical engineering who will make recommendations to government. The review would be conducted over the next six months.

The extraordinary inspections of approximately 60 tailings sites would include inactive mines. These inspections would need to be completed within 90 days, says the memo.

“MABC has had numerous discussions with various government representatives and we support the general intent to adopt the above measures in an effort to ensure public confidence and trust in our industry,” said Brino in her memo, sent out late Thursday.

“The messages we have been delivering since the incident of Aug. 4 support the measures being announced. It is important for us to understand the cause of the breach and adopt any necessary measures to ensure this does not happen again,” said Brino.

She told her members that the association will make a public statement in support of the measures once the government announcement is made.

Association representatives, including Brino, did not respond to requests for an interview on Friday. Imperial Metals could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Other mining companies were reluctant to comment until an announcement is made.

“This is something that we will wait for the actual announcement and see what the government approach is actually going to be,” said Brian Battison, vice-president of corporate affairs for Taskeo Mines. Taseko operates the Gibraltar Mine in the same region as Mount Polley.

The B.C. government and Imperial Metals have been under scrutiny after the tailings dam collapse released 10 million cubic metres of water used in the mine processing plant and 4.5 million cubic metres of finely ground rock containing toxic metals, which are called tailings.

The sudden rush of water and tailings plugged the outlet from Polley Lake and destroyed Hazeltine Creek. Some of the water and possibly tailings ended up in Quesnel Lake.

The province told hundreds of residents in the area of the spill to stop using the water, but the ban was largely lifted after test results showed the water was safe. However, concerns over the long-term effects of the water and tailings continue from residents, First Nations and environmental groups.

The Mount Polley tailings dam collapse has also put a greater safety focus on the B.C. mining industry. There are 98 permitted tailings impoundments at 60 closed and operating metal and coal mines in B.C., according to the mines ministry. Many mines have more than one tailings facility.

Last year, the province conducted geotechnical inspections on 57 of the tailing facilities, according to the Mines Ministry.

ghoekstra@vancouversun.com

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