Provincial reports flag safety concerns, sanitation issues, as well as workplace bullying and harassment
The Highland Valley Copper mine in British Columbia is under intense scrutiny after a provincial investigation documented concerns about safety, bullying and organizational culture at one of Canada’s largest mining operations.
Regulator cites systemic safety and culture problems
In December, the Office of the Chief Inspector of Mines (OCIM) released a Mines Regulation 1 investigation into Highland Valley Copper (HVC), located near Logan Lake. Based on input from 271 employees, the report found rising incident rates, allegations of bullying and harassment, and formal discrimination complaints, alongside complaints that production pressures and inconsistent discipline have eroded trust and psychological safety on site.
The investigation concluded that traditional, rule‑based safety approaches at HVC often fail to reflect the realities of “work‑as‑done” in a complex, aging operation. It highlighted accounts of dust exposure, degraded structural integrity in the mill, running broken equipment, “Black‑Ops” jobs where work is done off‑hours with shortcuts, and crews struggling with understaffing and missed breaks.
Union highlights dust, infrastructure and hygiene risks
Kyle Wolff, president of United Steelworkers Local 7619, which represents about 1,200 workers at the mine, says the findings align with what the union has raised for years. He identified dust, road conditions and structural integrity as the most pressing health and safety issues.
He described long‑term degradation of dust‑control equipment such as extractors and cyclones, both in the processing plant and on mine roads, and is worried about exposure to respirable crystalline silica. “Silicosis is our concern.”
Autonomous haulage has introduced additional challenges, Wolff said, with heavy trucks degrading haul roads and leaving human drivers in light vehicles to contend with deep ruts and potholes, contributing to “a lot of back injuries.”
He also pointed to the age and condition of the mill, now roughly six decades old. During a period when the facility was expected to wind down, investment lagged, and Wolff said there were at least two incidents where workers “actually fell through the floor” when corroded grating failed beneath them. A dedicated structural‑integrity crew is now in place, but he still characterizes the plant’s condition as a major risk.
More recently, a January health and safety inspection at HVC led to an order concerning slip tanks used at the site. Inspectors found an open slip‑tank lid with dark sediment at the bottom, along with an active sink that was supposed to have been decommissioned in 2024. Earlier concerns documented by OCIM included reports of dead mice, feces and maggots in slip tanks and rest areas at the L‑L Dam. Wolff said the potable water supply itself is deep‑well and heavily regulated, but acknowledged what he called a “reality” of poorly maintained tanks, septic systems and lunchroom facilities.
Legislative gaps and fatalities raise stakes for B.C. mining
The OCIM investigation went beyond physical hazards to examine workplace interactions and governance. Workers, supervisors and managers all reported experiencing or witnessing bullying and harassment. Many front‑line workers told investigators they feared speaking up due to potential discipline or reassignment, and a majority said they would not want their children to work at the site because of safety concerns or workplace stress.
Wolff argues part of the problem is legislative. Bullying and harassment, he noted, historically have not been explicitly addressed in B.C.’s Mines Act or Health, Safety and Reclamation Code. “There’s no bullying harassment language in the mines code,” he said, adding that this has forced unions to negotiate site‑specific policies at the bargaining table and pursue remedies through the Human Rights Tribunal, workers’ compensation appeals and labour arbitrations.
After years of lobbying by unions and employers, Wolff expects bullying and harassment provisions to be added to the Mines Code by March, which he describes as the first such change in decades.
The investigation also highlighted a structural gap in oversight. In B.C., health and safety at mines is regulated pre‑injury by the Ministry of Mines, while WorkSafeBC assumes jurisdiction after an injury. According to Wolff, WorkSafeBC “doesn't have jurisdiction to investigate” conditions on mine sites, while ministry inspectors have no authority over compensation claims or rehabilitation. He says this split can complicate efforts to investigate serious incidents and hold employers accountable.
Against this backdrop, the union says it documented about 40 serious incidents at HVC in 2025 and is worried about the trajectory. Wolff warned that, without significant change, “we believe there will be a fatality if we don’t change course.” In the broader B.C. mining sector, he noted, there have already been three fatalities so far in 2026, a number he calls “terrifying.”
Teck Resources, which owns Highland Valley Copper, told CBC News it is “taking the findings of the report very seriously.” The company said HVC and United Steelworkers “have been working together with the support of facilitators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers since July to strengthen health and safety performance and workplace culture at HVC,” and that this ongoing work is intended to address the investigation’s recommendations as well as “other areas for collaboration and improvement.”
Wolff confirmed that facilitated discussions are underway and said a recent meeting with the company was the most productive in years, but he cautioned that the issues identified in the investigation and by workers will not be resolved quickly. “It’s going to take years…because it’s taken years to get here,” he said.
The OCIM report stops short of issuing enforcement orders tied to its recommendations but calls for “forward‑looking accountability” from all parties and sets suggested timelines for addressing high‑risk hazards, modernizing investigations, revising discipline practices and integrating frontline worker input into procedure design. Regulators have signalled they will monitor HVC’s progress and follow up on identified health, safety and compliance concerns during future inspections.
For now, the mine’s long‑standing record of operating without a worker fatality—more than 60 years, according to Wolff—sits uneasily alongside warnings from both the union and the regulator that, without cultural and systemic change, that record may be at risk.
