Imperial Metals
Corporate brand
UnclaimedCanadian mining company focused on copper, gold, and other base and precious metals.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Imperial Metals is a Canadian metals and mining company involved in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining, and production of base and precious metals. The company’s principal assets and operating history are concentrated in British Columbia, although its corporate activities are described as extending across North America. Its principal commodities include copper, gold, and silver, generally produced through open-pit mining and processed into concentrates rather than sold as finished consumer products. The company’s operating portfolio has included two producing British Columbia mines, a mine held in care and maintenance, and exploration or development-stage properties. Mount Polley, located approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake, is an open-pit copper-gold mine that began operating in 1997. It has been one of Imperial Metals’ most important assets and also the source of the company’s most significant public controversy. In August 2014, a failure of the Mount Polley tailings storage facility released mine waste and water into surrounding waterways. The incident prompted regulatory scrutiny, public protests, concern among members of the Secwepemc Nation, and wider debate about mine-waste governance and the adequacy of tailings-dam oversight. Operations were suspended for several years, resumed in 2016, and were again halted in 2019 before restarting in July 2022. Imperial also owns a 30 percent interest in the Red Chris copper-gold mine, with the remaining 70 percent held by Newmont. Red Chris is an open-pit operation near Iskut in northwestern British Columbia. Its location near the Klappan River and the Sacred Headwaters has made watershed protection, Indigenous participation, and transboundary environmental management recurring public issues. Because waterways in the region are connected to systems reaching toward southeastern Alaska, commercial fishermen, Indigenous organizations, and local officials in Alaska have sought a stronger role in discussions concerning development and watershed protection. According to the cited 2024 operating information, Imperial’s Mount Polley mine and its interest in Red Chris together produced 61,296,423 pounds of copper and 57,051 ounces of gold. These figures describe production attributable to the company’s operations and interest as presented in the reference material; they are not treated here as revenue or valuation data. The company’s business model remains tied to the cyclical economics of copper and precious-metals mining, including exploration risk, permitting, capital requirements, commodity-price exposure, operational interruptions, and environmental obligations. Imperial Metals is therefore positioned as a Canadian mid-sized resource company rather than a diversified global mining major. Its identity is shaped by British Columbia mineral development, copper-gold production, ownership interests in strategic mine projects, and the continuing reputational and regulatory consequences of the Mount Polley tailings failure. Its principal current public profile combines operating mine production with project development, reclamation, environmental management, and engagement with regulators, Indigenous communities, local governments, and downstream stakeholders.
History
Imperial Metals was established in 1987 and developed as a Canadian metals and mining company. Its activities encompass mineral-property acquisition, exploration, project development, mine operation, and production of base and precious metals. The company became especially associated with British Columbia, where most of its holdings and operations have been located. Before 2002, the business was known as IMI Imperial Metals Inc.; it subsequently used the Imperial Metals name. A central asset in the company’s history is the Mount Polley mine in central British Columbia, about 100 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake. The open-pit copper-gold mine began operating in 1997 and became a significant source of the company’s copper and gold production. Mount Polley’s operating history was interrupted by a major tailings-storage-facility failure in August 2014. The event released mine waste and water into the surrounding watershed and led to investigations, regulatory scrutiny, community concern, and protests involving local activists and members of the Secwepemc Nation. The incident also became part of broader Canadian and international discussion about the design, monitoring, and governance of mine tailings facilities. Following the failure, Mount Polley’s operations were suspended and later resumed in 2016. The mine was closed again in 2019, and after roughly three years without operations it recommenced production in July 2022. The repeated interruptions illustrate the operational, regulatory, and financial sensitivity of large mining projects to environmental incidents, permitting conditions, market conditions, and site-specific planning requirements. Imperial’s other principal operating interest is the Red Chris mine in northwestern British Columbia. Imperial holds 30 percent of the project, while Newmont owns the remaining 70 percent. Red Chris is an open-pit copper-gold mine near Iskut, with the Klappan River passing through the property less than 20 kilometres from its confluence with the Stikine River. The mine’s setting near the Sacred Headwaters has generated concern about effects on rivers, fish habitat, Indigenous rights and participation, and the management of watersheds that have significance on both sides of the Canada–United States border. Commercial fishermen, Indigenous organizations, and the mayors of Sitka and Petersburg have been among the stakeholders reported as seeking a formal role in discussions about development and shared watersheds. Beyond Mount Polley and Red Chris, the company has held a mine in British Columbia described as being in care and maintenance, as well as exploration-stage or development projects in the province. These assets reflect the long-cycle nature of Imperial’s business: mineral exploration and permitting precede construction, while producing mines require ongoing investment, environmental management, maintenance, and eventual reclamation. In 2024, production attributed to Mount Polley and Imperial’s interest in Red Chris was reported at 61,296,423 pounds of copper and 57,051 ounces of gold. Imperial’s present identity is consequently that of a British Columbia-centred copper and precious-metals producer with a portfolio extending from exploration to operating mines. Its history combines resource development and production growth with the lasting regulatory, environmental, and reputational implications of the Mount Polley disaster.
- 2024
Reported copper and gold production
[1]Mount Polley and Imperial’s 30 percent Red Chris interest produced reported copper and gold volumes during the year.
- 2022
Mount Polley restarted
[1]Mount Polley recommenced operations in July after an approximately three-year suspension.
- 2019
Mount Polley closed again
[1]Operations at Mount Polley were halted again.
- 2016
Mount Polley reopened
[1]Mount Polley resumed operations after the post-incident suspension.
- 2014
Mount Polley tailings facility failed
[1]A tailings-dam failure at Mount Polley caused a major environmental incident and led to public and regulatory scrutiny.
- 2002
Corporate name changed to Imperial Metals
[1]The company ceased using the earlier IMI Imperial Metals Inc. name and became known as Imperial Metals.
- 1997
Mount Polley began operation
[1]The open-pit copper-gold Mount Polley mine in British Columbia entered operation.
- 1987
Company founded
[1]Imperial Metals was established as a Canadian metals and mining company.
Products and positioning
A Canadian mid-sized mining company focused on copper, gold, and other base and precious metals, with a portfolio concentrated in British Columbia.
Base-metal concentrate
Copper concentrate
Copper concentrate is a principal output of Imperial Metals’ copper-gold mining operations. It is produced by processing mined ore to separate valuable copper-bearing minerals from waste rock. The company’s Mount Polley mine and its interest in Red Chris are associated with copper production, making copper concentrate central to Imperial’s commercial identity and exposure to the copper market.
Precious metal
Gold
Gold is produced alongside copper at Imperial Metals’ principal copper-gold assets. Mount Polley is an open-pit copper-gold mine, and Red Chris is also a copper-gold operation in which Imperial owns a minority interest. Gold therefore functions as a co-product that contributes to the company’s production profile and diversification within the metals sector.
Precious metal
Silver
Silver is among the precious metals associated with Imperial Metals’ mining activities. The company’s portfolio is primarily described around copper and gold, while silver represents an additional metal that may occur in polymetallic ore bodies and contribute to the broader production mix.
Open-pit copper-gold mine · 1997
Mount Polley mine
Mount Polley is an open-pit copper-gold mine located approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake, British Columbia. It began operating in 1997, experienced a major tailings-storage-facility failure in 2014, reopened in 2016, closed again in 2019, and resumed operations in July 2022.
Open-pit copper-gold mine
Red Chris mine
Red Chris is an open-pit copper-gold mine near Iskut in northwestern British Columbia. Imperial Metals owns a 30 percent interest and Newmont owns the remaining 70 percent. The property is located near the Klappan River and the Sacred Headwaters, making environmental and transboundary watershed issues important aspects of the project’s public context.
Controversies
2014
Mount Polley tailings dam failure
In August 2014, the tailings storage facility at the Mount Polley mine failed, releasing mine waste and water into the surrounding environment. The incident resulted in investigations, protests, concern among members of the Secwepemc Nation, operational suspension, and continuing debate about mine-waste safety and environmental accountability.
Brand decisions
2022
Restart Mount Polley after extended suspensionStrategyBackground
Mount Polley had been inactive since its 2019 closure.
Action taken
Imperial Metals restarted the mine in July 2022.
Aftermath
Mount Polley returned to the company’s operating production portfolio.
2019
Halt Mount Polley operationsStrategyBackground
Mount Polley had returned to operation after the 2014 incident but was subsequently affected by another operational interruption.
Action taken
Operations at Mount Polley were halted again in 2019.
Aftermath
After approximately three years of suspension, the mine recommenced operations in July 2022.
2016
Resume Mount Polley operationsStrategyBackground
Mount Polley had been suspended following the 2014 tailings-storage-facility failure and associated regulatory and public scrutiny.
Action taken
The company resumed operations at the mine in 2016.
Aftermath
The mine later closed again in 2019 before eventually restarting in 2022.
Sources2 sources
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