British Columbia·VideoThe Red Chris mine is part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s list of “nation-building” projects he wants to fast track. As CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe explains, the project is still not a done deal.The Red Chris mine expansion has big economic opportunities, but not everyone is convinced of the planCBC News · Posted: Nov 08, 2025 12:01 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 1 minuteThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.There’s big money in this B.C. mine expansion — but at what cost?Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to speed up the Red Chris copper and gold mine expansion as part of Canada ‘nation-building’ projects. For The National, CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down why the B.C. mine is high on the list, and what still stands in the way of the deal.The expansion of the Red Chris copper and gold mine in northwestern B.C. has been listed by Prime Minister Mark Carney as a “nation-building” project he wants to accelerate.The mine, which sits on Tahltan Nation land, would have its lifespan extended by more than a decade as part of the project.”It’s an important step in reconciliation and further developing the potential of northern B.C.,” Carney said.But as the CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe explains, the federal government has nothing to do with approving the mine’s expansion — that’s up to the province, Tahltan Nation and the mine’s owner.And while there’s big economic opportunities in copper — which is used in solar panels, electric vehicles, transmission lines, AI data centres and battery storage — there’s also environmental concerns.
There’s big money in this B.C. mine expansion but at what cost?
