The Greenest Mine Is the One That's Already Built
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Conservationists know that the greenest developments are the ones that are already built. The developed sites at Thor and at the Max concentrator, when combined with innovative technologies like renewable energy, will easily make Midway a contender for the title of "Greenest Mine in B.C."
Taranis has shared a plan of action with the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low-Carbon Innovation that can bring Midway into commercial production very quickly while implementing technologies that meet or exceed the Ministry's goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and environmental safety. |
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“Companies, communities and regulators faced with mine closure scenarios should explicitly place future economic occupation of mine sites at the forefront of mine closure visioning and leave open future options for creative human enterprise.” -Bruce Harvey
As consumers expand their search for ethically-sourced products and materials, more attention is being focused on mining and metals production. B.C.'s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low-Carbon Innovation is seeking to build a new provincial mining brand around safety, environmental awareness, and low greenhouse gas emissions - and Taranis Resources is ready to deliver immediate solutions to this challenge by uniting the idle Max molybdenum mill with its high-grade polymetallic Thor resource under Midway.
Taranis' leadership has built the Midway concept from the ground up to integrate the three central pillars of sustainability:
As consumers expand their search for ethically-sourced products and materials, more attention is being focused on mining and metals production. B.C.'s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low-Carbon Innovation is seeking to build a new provincial mining brand around safety, environmental awareness, and low greenhouse gas emissions - and Taranis Resources is ready to deliver immediate solutions to this challenge by uniting the idle Max molybdenum mill with its high-grade polymetallic Thor resource under Midway.
Taranis' leadership has built the Midway concept from the ground up to integrate the three central pillars of sustainability:
Reduce:
Energy Requirements
Environmental Disturbance
CO2 Emissions
Water Utilization
- Near-surface Thor deposit requires little energy expenditure to extract valuable minerals
- Mineralized ores don't need to be brought up from deep within the earth
- Permitting is underway for an in-line pressure jig processing system that utilizes 20% less power than traditional jigs
- Nearly 1km of elevation separates Thor and the Max concentrator facilities - Midway is being built to harness this natural energy
- Taranis is in contact with a world-class builder of material ropeways - aerial transport solutions made possible by elevation
Environmental Disturbance
- Thor is a high-grade mineral deposit - it generates less waste, requires less surface disturbance, and processing is minimized
- Midway doesn't require expensive and environmentally harmful construction of tailings storage facilities, milling infrastructure, or new offices, bunkhouses, etc.
- Midway is being built to not rely on roads or other conventional means of transport - saving the environmental cost typical of this type of infrastructure
CO2 Emissions
- The Midway material ropeway could save more than 69,000 truck trips over the life of the mine - keeping at least 6.96 million pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere
Water Utilization
- The in-line pressure jig Taranis is permitting recycles 95% of all water used - consuming only 10% of the water used by traditional systems
Taranis is in contact with a leading manufacturer of aerial tramways - there are several routes which can be built to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Midway mine!
Re-Use:
Mine Components
Mine Infrastructure
Mill Components
Mill Infrastructure
- Thor is a brownfield site that has been mined in small-scale production since the 1890s - successful commercial production under the Midway concept will eliminate more than a dozen legacy surface disturbances and waste stockpiles, opening new opportunities for reclamation and environmental management
Mine Infrastructure
- Roads, pits, clearings, and tunnels have been left abandoned at Thor for nearly half a century. Environmental leaders recognize that the greenest infrastructure is that which is already built
Mill Components
- The past producing Max Project has the necessary grinding circuits, flotation facilities, foundations, buildings, permitted tailings storage facilities, and electrical components in place to produce high quality concentrates from the Thor deposit, saving new installation and environmental disturbance
Mill Infrastructure
- The Max mine site comprises approximately 3,500 hectares of mining-use areas, roadways, and stockpile areas, including shops, parking areas and other critical infrastructure that make a mine work - Taranis is resolved that re-using this infrastructure is strictly preferable to new construction from an environmental perspective
The Max facilities are in good shape but haven't been in use since 2010. By re-using these to mine the Thor deposit, no new impacts to the environment or local communities are made and the site compliance issues will be remedied.
Recycle:
Surface Waste/Ore Stockpiles from Legacy Mining
Debris from Legacy Mines
- The 10,000 tonne bulk sample at Thor is intended to process stockpiles left on surface from historical mining activities - as development continues, Taranis is seeking to remove all deleterious materials from the surface including waste materials. This will leave the area much improved for future generations and enable expanded use of the land, including recreation
Debris from Legacy Mines
- Taranis has already recycled 50t of legacy mill debris around Thor - but more recycling activities will require broader mining activities at Thor. Taranis continues to discover, map, and plan for reclamation activities related to legacy disturbances
Piles of ore, broken in place and never mined - Midway will remove and process these materials, setting the stage for thorough reclamation activities as Midway is advanced.
It is clear to Taranis that the same philosophy of re-use that has taken the architecture world by storm can be a guiding principle for mine development that is focused on minimizing its environmental impact:
"Over the past decade I have coined a phrase: The greenest building is…one that is already built. Many who hear me say it assume that I am being metaphysical. I’m not. In the same way that the wisdom of indigenous cultures taught David Suzuki to see the links between humans and nature, preservation philosophy has sensitized me to see the value in the existing world, especially the built world. Taking into account the massive investment of materials and energy in existing buildings, it is both obvious and profound that extending the useful service life of the building stock is common sense, good business, and sound resource management. To fully capture the value of the existing building stock requires merging two disciplines: historic preservation and green building. It requires an understanding of how to respect and renew what is already here and a vision for where and how to transform the legacy of the past into the promise of tomorrow" - Carl Elefante
"Over the past decade I have coined a phrase: The greenest building is…one that is already built. Many who hear me say it assume that I am being metaphysical. I’m not. In the same way that the wisdom of indigenous cultures taught David Suzuki to see the links between humans and nature, preservation philosophy has sensitized me to see the value in the existing world, especially the built world. Taking into account the massive investment of materials and energy in existing buildings, it is both obvious and profound that extending the useful service life of the building stock is common sense, good business, and sound resource management. To fully capture the value of the existing building stock requires merging two disciplines: historic preservation and green building. It requires an understanding of how to respect and renew what is already here and a vision for where and how to transform the legacy of the past into the promise of tomorrow" - Carl Elefante
