Taseko Mines Ltd T.TKO

TKO gets approval

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B.C. government approves controversial Prosperity mine project
 
 
BY SCOTT SIMPSON, VANCOUVER SUNJANUARY 14, 2010 5:02 PMCOMMENTS (2)
 
 
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Work goes on at one of Taseko Mines' expanded facilities.
Photograph by: Handout photo, Vancouver Sun files
VANCOUVER — Taseko Mines Ltd's ambitious $800-million Prosperity gold-copper project cleared a major hurdle Thursday with the awarding of a provincial environmental assessment certificate.
Taseko's certificate is contingent on fulfilling 103 commitments — including the creation of a new lake as a replacement for the destruction of Fish Lake and Little Fish Lake for the sake of the 20-year open pit mine near Williams Lake.
“The [Environmental Assessment Office assessment report concluded the project is not likely to result in any significant adverse effect, with the exception of the loss of Fish Lake and Little Fish Lake,” the province said.
Environment Minister Barry Tenner and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Blair Lekstrom announced the government's decision in a joint news release.
Conditions for developing the mine include implementation of a fish and fish habitat compensation plan to offset the loss of fish and fish habitat in the rainbow trout-bearing lake, and providing fishing opportunities for the public and first nations.
“This will include the establishment of a new lake in the vicinity of Fish Lake,” the province said.
Taseko vice-president for corporate affairs Brian Battison noted that the project first entered B.C.'s environmental assessment process in 1995, and that to date, Taseko has spent more than $100 million to get it to this stage.
Taseko is still in the midst of a federal panel review and Battison could not say when that process will conclude.
Estimated capital cost to bring Prosperity into production is $800 million. The mine would support 700 jobs for two years during construction, and up to 500 full-time jobs during operation.
The province expects the mine to contribute approximately $340 million to provincial GDP annually and $400 million in revenue to B.C. and $43 million to local and regional government over its estimated 20-year operating life.
“This is huge news, not just for our company but for Williams Lake and the Cariboo, for the mining industry in general in British Columbia, and for the government of British Columbia,” Battison said.
The province said it was satisfied that the duty of the Crown to consult and accommodate first nations interests had been discharged, noting that 13 aboriginal groups were consulted.
The Xeni Gwet'in First Nation has previously indicated its opposition to the project and in in January 2009 filed a writ in B.C. Supreme Court in an attempt to stop the project.
Xeni Gwet'in Chief Marilyn Baptiste, who announced the court case, could not be reached for comment.