Sullivan Mine tailings and waste rock--now SunMine

 solar farm, reclaimed area, abandoned mine/quarry

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Over 140 million tonnes of lead and zinc ore were extracted from the Sullivan Mine in a century of mining, as well as waste rock from the various shafts and mine tunnels drilled to access the huge orebody. The ore was processed in a huge concentrator (on the northwest corner of this site) from 1923 to 2001. In addition, a fertilizer plant (producing ammonium phosphate fertilizer) operated from 1953 to 1987, and a pig iron and steel plant operated for a time in the 1950s-60s using iron-bearing minerals found in the orebody. These plants were in the southwest corner of this area.

During the process of extracting 16 million tonnes of lead and zinc metal and 280 million ounces of silver from the ore, huge quantities of waste rock, mill tailings and plant wastes were left over, to be deposited in tailings ponds and waste dumps on this site over the years.

When the mine closed, Teck Cominco (now Teck Resources) spent $70 million over 5 years to reclaim the site, and the company continues to monitor and treat drainage water.

SunMine

The City of Kimberley, Teck and EcoSmart Foundation are partnering to redevelop the old mill site into the first solar energy project in BC. "SunMine" will develop a 2 MW pilot photovoltaic solar farm. Kimberley has one of the highest solar energy intensities in Canada (2200 hours of bright sun per year), and with the large unused industrial property available, the area could become a showcase of solar energy technology adapted for northern latitudes.

In July 2011 the Government of BC's Innovative Clean Energy Fund contributed $1 million towards the project, and on November 19, 2011 Kimberley's citizens voted in favour of a referendum authorizing the city to borrow up to $2 million for the project. Teck had already announced a $2 m contribution to increase the project to 2 MW conditional on the city taking a loan of similar amount. The City is also in the application phase of a further $1 M grant from the Western Economic Diversification fund.

www.sunmine.org/