Mine project review to continue
Written by Gordon Hoekstra
Citizen staff
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
princegeorgecitizen.com
Canada's Environment Minister Jim Prentice has announced an environmental assessment of the proposed $917-million Mount Milligan mine in B.C.'s Northern Interior will continue as a comprehensive study.
It's still not clear, however, how long a federal decision on the project will take. There are no timelines on Ottawa to deliver a decision.
The Mount Milligan project is the closest proposed mine to Prince George, 155 kilometres to the northwest. The open-pit mine is forecast to be in operation for 15 years, and is expected to create 600 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs.
Terrane Metals official Glen Wonders welcomed the federal decision, saying the company had been preparing for a comprehensive study. "I'm hoping it's concluded by the fall," said Wonders, vice-president of corporate affairs and sustainability.
Wonders said the project continues to be economically attractive and robust at current copper and gold prices and the Canada-U.S. dollar exchange rate. Several mining expansions have been put on hold in northern B.C. in the past six months in the face of a global economic slowdown.
Wonders acknowledged that it remains challenging to arrange debt financing, but said the environment is improving. At the end of last year, Terrane Metals had announced plans to delay the start of construction to, at the earliest, the spring of 2010 from the fall of 2009. The company had noted it was having a hard time raising money in the tighter global credit markets.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Authority indicated last October the project would be reviewed as a comprehensive study -- a higher level than a screening, but lower than a more-lengthy panel review. But as part of an exercise to determine the scope of the review, Ottawa did consider ultimately what kind of review it would undertake.
Mining Watch Canada had pushed the federal government to undertake a panel review.
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency spokesperson Annie Roy said the next step would be to make an announcement on funding to successful groups who want to be involved in the assessment.
Ottawa made up to $50,000 available in participant funding.
As part of the review, the project will also open to public comment, Roy noted.
The British Columbia government -- following a two-year, four-month environmental assessment -- gave the project the green light in March.
The province's environmental assessment concluded the project is not likely to have significant adverse effects, based on the mitigation measures and commitments the company has agreed to. The province's environmental certificate contains nearly 100 commitments the company must implement through various stages of the project.
Key commitments include storing potentially acid-generating mining waste under water in a man-made pond to prevent acid-rock drainage and metal leaching. Terrane Metals must also monitor the tailings pond and other facilities to ensure there is no discharge of surface water to adjacent streams. The company also has to implement plans to protect fisheries and wildlife.
Prince George and its businesses and economic agencies have voiced support for the project. Prince George is a service and supply centrefor the mining sector in northern B.C.
In a submission to the province's environmental assessment, Initiatives Prince George, the city's economic development agency, said the Mount Milligan project would be an important economic stimulus to Prince George and the region at a time when communities are struggling with continuing adjustments in the forest industry.
The mine is equal distance between the communities of Fort St. James and Mackenzie, about 90 kilometres away. Both communities, which have been hit hard by the forestry downturn, have voiced enthusiasm for the project to diversify their forest-based economies.
The mining project has received support from the McLeod Lake Indian Band, but the Nak'azdli First Nation has reserved judgment on the mine. The Nak'azdli First Nation has not said it is against the mine, however it has been pushing for more involvement in the assessment process, citing concerns on water quality, wildlife and long-term impacts.
The proposed mine had been permitted under Placer Dome in the 1990s, but was never built. |
