Teck says no damage to tailings facility after 850,000 litre pipeline spill

An 850,000-litre process water spill at Highland Valley Copper's tailings facility in the Interiordidn't damage the dam or the environment, according to the mining company.

Damage to a water pipeline caused by freezing led to the incident on April 8, according to Teck Resourcesspokesperson Chris Stannell.

"The leak was reported immediately to regulatory authorities and the [damaged] line has been taken out of service until repairs are completed," he told CBC News in an email.

"The safety and stability of [the] tailings dam was not affected in any way and there were no environmental impacts as a result of this incident."

The Highland Valley Copper mine is the largest open pit copper mine in Canada. It's locatedabout 80 kilometressouthwest of Kamloops, B.C., not far from Logan Lake.

Last month, the union representing employees at the mine said it wasconcerned about the number of serious incidents that have occurred in recent months.

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