The Britannia Mine is located approximately 48 kilometres north of Vancouver B.C., at Britannia Beach, B.C., on the east shore of Howe Sound. The Britannia Mine was one of the largest copper producers in the British Empire. It was operated from 1904 to 1963 by the Britannia Mining and Smelting Company Ltd., and by Anaconda Mining Company from 1963 until permanent shutdown in 1974.
The Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant was originally designed and built under a public-private partnership between EPCOR Britannia Water Inc. and the Owner and has been in operation since 2006. The Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant is an integral part of the Owner’s overall remediation plan for this abandoned mine site. If left untreated, contaminated water from the mine site would have continued to deposit on average, 600 kilograms of metals into Howe Sound daily. The Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant was designed to treat up to 500,000 cubic metres per year of contaminated mine water before it drains into Howe Sound.
The Owner retained an independent technical advisor as set out in the Project Agreement contract termination requirements to complete 5-year, 3-year, and 1-year pre-termination inspections to verify the condition of the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant, and to provide the Owner with lists of deficiencies and action items to ensure that the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant is in good working order at termination. These pre-termination inspection reports have been uploaded to the Project’s data room. The Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant assets (including structural, process-mechanical, electrical equipment, etc.) have been maintained in accordance with contractual requirements and good industry practices.
Under the Competitive Selection Process, the Owner seeks a qualified entity to enter into a Service Contract to operate and maintain the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant for a 20-year term (2026-2046).
Additional information and the redacted Project Agreement can be found in the following link: https://www.infrastructurebc.com/project/britannia-mine-water-treatment-plant/.
