TRIBUTE TO MURRAY GALBRAITH

By frater M. Charles Brandt, erm.

A great vote of thanks goes to Murray Galbraith for his guidance and work in the partial reclamation of the open pit mine left behind when Mt. Washington Milling Co. went into receivership in l967, abandoning the open pit with its exposed sulfides to water and oxygen. The copper leachate, which resulted from this exposure, flowed into the Tsolum River, decimating its salmonid stocks.

Murray Galbraith was the lead engineer appointed  by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum  Resources in the Provincial Government’s proposed      reclamation of the old Mt. Washington Mine Site. His  work covered the period from l987 through l993. The  Ministries of Mines and the Ministry of Environment  carried out the work completed during this period,  Mines

  Father Brandt and Galbraith 1988      taking the lead role. And although their effort

did result in an up to 64% reduction of copper leachate flowing from the abandoned mine into the Tsolum River, the work as yet remains unfinished.

Surprisingly, it was not until l984, the year in which there was a zero return of pink salmon to the Tsolum River that Fisheries begin to suspect something was wrong. Careful monitoring ensued only to discover high levels of copper in the Tsolum that was traced back to the mine site. Copper of course is lethal to salmon.

Through intensive lobbying by the Steelhead Society and through the Honorable Stan Hagan’s ability to direct funding, the government hired SRK; a consulting firm from Vancouver, to provide a reclamation plans for the abandoned mine. This happened in l987.

Enter Murray Galbraith and the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Environment. Under their direction in l988 and ‘89 a till cover was placed over the north pit of the mine site, forming as it were, a raincoat to ward off water and oxygen. Minor work followed in the several ensuing years. During these first years there was no appreciable decline in copper levels and the reclamation was deemed by many to be a failure.

But...more recently -in the past 5 years- a 50% average reduction of copper has taken place, this known through careful monitoring both by federal and provincial agencies, indicating that, after all, the “raincoat” was working and continues to work, not perfectly, but working.

Plans are now underway to reduce the copper levels even further, to the point where pinks, coho, cutthroat, and steelhead will find once again a healthy home in the Tsolum River. We do not have to wait for that to thank Murray Galbraith who through his devotion and expertise has shown us the way.

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