Canada Rejects Taseko's Planned Gold/Copper Mine

The Canada Government has rejected the $815 million proposed Prosperity gold and copper mine to be located in British Columbia. This decision comes despite the plans of Vancouver based miner Taseko Mines being approved by the provincial government.

Taseko Mines President and CEO Russell Hallbauer said that they were extremely disappointed by the decision not only for their shareholders but also for the communities that were relying on the development of Prosperity to help offset the economic situation in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.

The decision was taken by Environment Minister Jim Prentice in order to save Fish Lake which lies in the Williams Lake region. The significant adverse environmental effects of the Prosperity project cannot be justified as it is currently proposed as per Mr Prentice.

The Minister of State for Mining in British Columbia, Randy Hawes, said that they would have to look for a way to restructure the project in a way that could work so that it could gain approval. He was disappointed by the federal government's decision as the project would have generated hundreds of jobs over its 22 year lifespan.