A former North Coast mining tycoon has been fined $30,000 for a myriad of environmental breaches by the Banks Island-based Yellow Giant Mine.
Benjamin Mossman, the former CEO of Banks Island Gold was found guilty of 13 counts of environmental regulations breaches in July, mainly for excessive zinc discharges into nearby waterways on the uninhabited island.
The Crown appealed Justice David Patterson’s decision, which was then cross-appealed by Mossman’s defence counsel Chilwin Cheng.
While Patterson determined Mossman was remorseful for his actions, the Prince Rupert judge said the former CEO and his company were “lucky” their actions did not lead to a full-blown environmental disaster.
“By failing to ensure that the Yellow Giant Mine had protocols in place to avoid the very failings for which he was convicted, Mossman is the author of his own misfortune,” the judge said.
Patterson speculated whether Mossman’s failure to abide by mining regulations was due to an inability to maximise profits from the mine.
“It may be that the financial strain of trying to get an old mining site productive led to the offences in the first place,” Patterson said in his sentencing.
The defence was seeking a $6,500 fine, though that suggestion was swiftly dismissed by Patterson.
Mossman’s financial situation, which is reported as income of $10,000 per year from his role as a board member at a California mining company Rise Gold, was taken into account by Patterson in his sentencing. Mossman was recently fired from his CEO position at Rise, according to the sentencing.
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Gitxaała First Nation, whose traditional territory Banks Island (Lax k’naga dzol) sits on, has been against the mine’s operation since its opening, saying its concerns surrounding potential environmental accidents were completely ignored during the initial permitting process.
While Gitxaała Chief Councillor Linda Innes said the Nation is happy to see Mossman held accountable, she was dissapointed in what the Nation deemed an insufficent punishment.
“While Mr. Mossman is certainly accountable for the horrendous example of what happens when bad mines are allowed to operate without clear oversight and accountability to Indigenous Rights and Title holders, these shamefully light administrative penalties amount to nothing but small fractions of the costs of correcting the devastation left behind,” Innes said.
The mine’s environmental breaches affected not only the island, but also the Gitxaała people, according to Patterson.
“Not only does violating mining permits potentially jeopardize the environment,” he said. “But in the present case, the offences jeopardized the rich resources and economy of the Gitxaała Nation as well as the spiritual beliefs of its people.”
According to Innes, the province has estimated the clean-up cost will be approximately $2.2. million, though the nation fears the mine’s environmental legacy will cost much more than that.
“The pollution has devastated Banks Island’s salmon-rich creeks and near-shore areas and continues to this day,” she said.
Gitxaała Nation was also involved in a historic lawsuit last month, challenging the province’s online mining permit system, which did not require prospectors like Mossman and his former company to consult First Nations.
“The Yellow Giant Mine started with mineral claims granted without notice, consultation, or consent,” Innes said “The recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling on Gitxaała’s challenge to B.C.’s mineral tenure system confirms that granting mineral claims without consultation is unconstitutional.”
While the province was ordered to change its system in the next 18 months, there have been seven permits approved for mining on Banks Island since 2018.