BQE Water Inc, a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, in collaboration with Centerra Gold Inc, has initiated preparations for re-starting the water treatment plant built and briefly operated in 2020 to mitigate selenium at the Kemess project in northern British Columbia, Canada.
To support the development of a new copper-gold deposit at Kemess, BQE Water was contracted in 2019 to design and operate a water treatment plant using its Selen-IX™ process to treat 65 litres per second (5,600 cu.m/d) of mine-influenced water producing effluent containing selenium concentrations of less than 2 parts per billion of total selenium. The plant was constructed, fully commissioned and successfully operated for several months in 2020 under the operations services agreement (OSA) with a five-year term. In recognition of the successful first full-scale implementation of Selen-IX, the Kemess project was awarded the Environmental Award by Engineers & Geoscientists professional association of BC in 2021.
Subsequently, as the new mine development plans were altered, the water treatment plant was placed under care and maintenance, and the OSA was amended to enable the BQE Water team to provide annual site visits to maintain the facility as a viable asset without altering the original term.
Responding to requirements from Centerra earlier this year, BQE Water prepared a plan for re-starting the treatment plant including re-commissioning and the plant is expected to commence seasonal operations during late summer of 2026. Reflecting the short operations season this year, BQE Water will be providing commissioning and operations services in 2026 under a changer order that would allow this year’s project objectives to be met without shortening the remaining term of the OSA.
David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water, said: “We are excited to resume plant operations at Kemess. This project will allow us to bring to bear our experience and expertise from years of operational management of four other Selen-IX plants outside of BC to support industry-leading management of selenium at home.”