Underground mining activities have been suspended at the New Afton Mine located just west of Kamloops following an inspection of its tailings storage facility.

In a news release, mine owner New Gold says some “geotechnical variances that require further review by the engineer of record” were noted during a regular inspection of the tailings storage facility yesterday, Aug. 9.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Company has elected to suspend underground mining activities allowing its [Engineer of Record] appropriate time to review the findings,” New Gold said.

The integrity of tailings dams, which are supposed to store toxic mining byproducts, has been a focus of concern in the mining industry in recent years, after several high-profile accidents.

That includes the Mount Polley mine disaster of 2014, when a tailings dam at the copper and gold mine near Williams Lake ruptured and spilled more than 20 million cubic metres of waste water into Quesnel Lake, Hazeltine Creek, and other nearby waterways.

New Gold says milling operations are not impacted at the New Afton Mine as workers are using the existing surface stockpile. It also says in-pit tailings deposition is also taking place, as planned.

“New Gold has alerted and is working with the relevant regulatory authorities to address the situation, and will issue further updates as appropriate,” the statement added.

“Our priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and communities.”