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The global transition to cleaner energy sources is creating a big demand for critical minerals. This is leading to more mining activities happening in remote areas of British Columbia (BC), often on land belonging to First Nations. As this ‘mining renaissance’ in BC accelerates, we need to develop improved practices around Indigenous engagement and land restoration so that traditional land use activities are preserved and disturbed lands can return to health.

Centerra Gold has partnered with Chu Cho Environmental (a research and consulting company owned by the Tsay Keh Dene Nation) to test and implement innovative reclamation approaches at the Mount Milligan Mine. These approaches include large-scale collection, propagation and planting of native plant species and incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into their reclamation plans. However, it can take many years to see if these methods are working using conventional monitoring metrics (vegetation and wildlife).

In this 2-year project, researchers from Thompson Rivers University and Chu Cho Environmental are looking for new monitoring methods that will more quickly signal if reclamation activities are working. They will examine whether invertebrates that are responsive to changes in the environment (e.g. insects and spiders) and microbial species found in the soil can be used as early indicators of ecological recovery. The team will develop a multi-omics protocol to detect and compare the invertebrate and soil microbial communities at the reclaimed site to three reference disturbed sites – an unreclaimed mining site, a regenerated forestry site and a regenerated wildfire area. If successful, this tool will allow prompt intervention and correction of unsuccessful reclamation areas, improving reclamation outcomes and increasing stakeholder confidence for continued mining activities.