Taseko Mines said Monday it has resubmitted a new plan for the $800-million Prosperity gold and copper mine that will reduce environmental impacts and preserve Fish Lake.
The project, in the Williams Lake area south of Prince George, was rejected by the federal government seven weeks ago over significant environmental impacts identified in a federal panel review.
Taseko said it was able to produce a more-costly redesign that preserves the lake because the long-term prospects of copper and gold prices have increased significantly. The company estimated the redesign will add $300 million in construction and operating costs.
Taseko president and CEO Russell Hallbauer noted prices have nearly doubled since the company's long-term assumptions in 2005.
Copper is at $2.50 per pound, up from the company's $1.50 assumption in 2005. Gold is above $1,000 an ounce, up from a $550-an-ounce assumption.
"Our initiative to preserve Fish Lake and accommodate the concerns of the federal government and First Nations communities is a major commitment and undertaking by Taseko," Hallbauer said in a statement.
"Given that the project re-design retains much of the original plan, Taseko is confident that government agencies and departments will be able to rely on significant portions of the already completed environmental assessments to inform the new assessment and that we anticipate the scope of that assessment to be focused on only what has changed," said Hallbauer.
Under the new plan, all mine operations will be contained in one single watershed, said the company.
In July, a federal panel concluded there would be significant adverse environmental effects from the Prosperity mine on fish and fish habitat, traditional First Nations use and on potential, or established, Aboriginal rights or title.
The most contentious issue surrounding the project was the use of 121-hectare Fish Lake to store mining waste.
Taseko's plan would turn the lake into a storage pond for mining waste, destroying about 90,000 rainbow trout, according to the panel. The company's plan to replace the lake with a new man-made lake to support 20,000 rainbow trout is questionable, said the panel.
The panel also concluded that the project, in combination with past, present and reasonably foreseeable future projects would result in a significant adverse cumulative effect on grizzly bears in the south Chilcotin region and on fish and fish habitat.
Provincial and national First Nations groups had banded together to demand the federal government reject the proposed Prosperity mine.
Business and industry interests had said a rejection of the Prosperity project would chase away investment in mining in British Columbia.
Taseko had said the project would create 500 direct jobs, another 1,200 indirect jobs during a 20-year period. The local, regional and provincial economies will also benefit from spending and taxes, said the company.
