Water from one of the surface water collection ponds at Gibraltar Mine north of Williams Lake was released un-intentionally on Thursday, confirmed Brian Battison, Taseko Mines Ltd. vice-president of corporate affairs.
It happened between 9:50 and 10:15 a.m. on March 24.
"The water that was released from the pond was largely contained in the drainage collection ditches downstream of the pond, but some water was able to move beyond the ditches and across the mine access road," Battison said.
Within a few hours the integrity of the pond was fully restored and there are no further concerns about additional water being released, he added.
Most of the surface water in the collection ponds comes from rain, snow melt, and some from pit dewatering and has nothing to do with tailings or the tailings impoundment, but it is an incident the company takes very seriously, Battison said.
"We regret the incident and there will be a full investigation by us into it and obviously we will work with all the regulatory agencies if they are involved."