(Smelter slag outside Crofton Old School Museum)
North Cowichan to debate legacy contaminants from old Crofton smelter
(UPDATE: On May 21, council unanimously endorsed Councillor Justice's motion).
For decades, people have wondered what sort of contaminants might be leaching out of the old Crofton smelter site on the Osborne Bay waterfront.
On Wednesday, the answer to that question might be one step closer.
North Cowichan councillor Christopher Justice is asking council to direct staff to provide a historical overview of copper smelting operations in Crofton during the early 1900s, “with particular focus on what is known about the remnant slag left in the area.”
Justice wants staff to report back on available information on environmental, technical, legal, social, and economic issues related to the smelter site, as well as the potential benefits to the community of remediation.
He’s also seeking recommendations for “initial actions the municipality could take, including any resourcing/financial implications associated with these actions, to begin building a case for advocating to higher levels of government for assessment and/or remediation of the affected area.”
(Cowichan Valley Museum and Archives)
The Northwestern Smelting and Refining Company operation opened in 1902 to process rail-delivered ore from Henry Croft’s Lenora mine on Mount Sicker.
The smelter closed in in 1908 and today is officially contaminated site #1730.
A “site details report” obtained by sixmountains.ca from the BC government lists the following historical land uses: “dry docks, ship building or boat repair, including paint removal; metal smelting/processing/finishing industries/activities; mine tailing waste disposal operations; pulp mill operation.”
(The Crofton pulp and paper mill opened in 1957 north of the smelter site.)
(Site of old smelter on Osborne Bay waterfront)
Slag from the smelter site can still be viewed next to the Crofton Old School Museum and on the waterfront next to Osborne Bay Resort.
For more information on Crofton smelter and Mt. Sicker’s mining heyday, read T.W. Paterson’s book, Riches to Ruin: https://twpaterson.com/books/.
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— Larry Pynn, May 19, 2025
