Impacts of climate change on Canadian mining industry studied

Sheila Bautz in the Leader-Post (Saskatchewan): Natural Resources Canada is funding a project to examine the impacts of climate change on mining in Saskatchewan. The goal is to distribute the results of the project's recommendation documents across Canada by compiling the information in a program called "Enhancing Competitiveness in a Changing Climate."

The federal government is funding the Saskatchewan project entitled, "Risk To Mining Companies Related to Extreme Climate Events: Case Studies of Adaptation Actions Focusing On The Qu'Appelle Water Sheds" for inclusion with their program.

Although federally funded, the Water Security Agency (previously Saskatchewan Watershed Authority) is leading the provincial project. The Water Security Agency leads management of the province's water resources to ensure safe drinking water sources and reliable water supplies for economic, environmental, and social benefits for the people of Saskatchewan. Ben Brodie has been contracted as the project manager by The Water Security Agency to deliver the project. Brodie is managing the extensive research team undertaking various areas of research and documenting case studies, as well as integrating input from different agencies involved with the mining industry in Saskatchewan.

"You don't have to go far to see the impact the extremes have had on the region, the prairies have always had an extreme climate which has been highlighted in recent years with widespread flooding having a major impact around the province. If you read the research that has been done on the impacts of climate change in the prairies, it looks like the extremes - the excessive droughts and flooding - may become more common," said Brodie....

The McArthur River Uranium Mine in Saskatchewan, shot by Turgan, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license