Top Active Mines
in British Columbia

Highland Valley Copper is the largest open-pit copper mine in Canada, with operations spanning a massive property west of Kamloops. The mine uses conventional truck-and-shovel open-pit mining and flotation milling, processing approximately 135,000 tonnes of ore per day.

Copper Mountain is a conventional open-pit copper-gold mine located 20 km south of Princeton. Hudbay acquired the mine through its 2023 merger with Copper Mountain Mining. The operation processes approximately 45,000 tonnes per day through a concentrator that produces copper-gold concentrate.

New Afton is one of Canada's few block cave mining operations, extracting copper and gold ore from beneath an exhausted open pit. The mine sits within the traditional territory of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc and Stk'emlupsemc te Secwépemc Nations, with whom New Gold has revenue-sharing agreements.

Mount Milligan is a large open-pit copper-gold mine in central B.C. that commenced commercial production in 2014. The operation processes approximately 60,000 tonnes per day. A persistent challenge has been securing sufficient water supply, addressed through a pipeline from nearby Philip Lake.

The Elk Valley complex is one of the largest steelmaking coal operations on Earth, comprising four active mines — Fording River, Elkview, Greenhills, and Line Creek — plus Coal Mountain on care and maintenance. Glencore acquired a 77% stake in 2024 from Teck Resources, transforming EVR into a pure-play metallurgical coal company. The operation employs over 4,500 workers and ships product via rail to Westshore Terminals in Delta, B.C.

Conuma purchased three idled mines near Tumbler Ridge from Walter Energy in 2016 and is now transitioning its portfolio. Quintette is being restarted as the flagship, while Brule completed its reserves and entered care and maintenance. Conuma also acquired Anglo American's Peace River Coal in February 2025.

Brucejack is one of the highest-grade gold mines in the world, located in B.C.'s storied Golden Triangle. The underground mine accesses the Valley of the Kings deposit through a 3,800-tonne-per-day processing facility accessible only by air and a 70-kilometre road from the port of Stewart.

Blackwater is one of the largest gold projects under construction in Canada. When completed, it will be one of B.C.'s biggest gold mines, with Phase 1 averaging 345,000 ounces of gold and 1.7 million ounces of silver annually over a 22-year mine life. The project has support from the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation and Ulkatcho First Nation through impact benefit agreements.

Red Chris is a remote copper-gold mine in the Tahltan Nation's traditional territory in northwestern B.C. Newmont inherited the asset through its Newcrest acquisition and holds a 70% stake. The current open-pit operation is being studied for a potential block cave underground mine that could dramatically extend the mine life and increase production.

Gibraltar is the second-largest open-pit copper mine in Canada by ore throughput, processing approximately 85,000 tonnes per day. The mine is located on the Cariboo Plateau near Williams Lake and has been in intermittent production since 1972.

Endako is one of the world's largest primary molybdenum mines, located near Fraser Lake in central B.C. The mine was placed on care and maintenance in 2015 due to depressed molybdenum prices. At full capacity, the operation processed 28,000 tonnes per day.