| Taseko responds to Government of Canada decision on New Prosperity Project | VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - The Government of Canada has announced it will not issue the federal authorizations necessary for Taseko's (TSX: TKO; NYSE MKT: TGB) (the "Company") New Prosperity Project to proceed.
The Company fundamentally disagrees with the decision the federal government has made and believes they based their decision on a panel report which contains serious flaws. New Prosperity can be built to a high standard of environmental integrity, including the full protection of Fish Lake.
Russell Hallbauer, President and CEO of Taseko commented, "We are not alone in our disappointment. Many others, including the Government of British Columbia and the thousands of Cariboo residents who have worked hard to support New Prosperity will be similarly discouraged. We thank each of them for the confidence they have placed in us and wish to assure them that our commitment to the Cariboo remains strong. We will continue to support the excellent work of our 700 employees at Gibraltar, Canada's second largest open pit copper mine and the largest employer in the Cariboo region."
Mr. Hallbauer continued, "At the invitation of the federal government in 2010, Taseko committed $300 million to address the concerns from the first panel review and submitted a new proposal. After a second lengthy and costly federal review, the federal government has once again stood in the way of the development of an important project to British Columbia."
Taseko will proceed with the federal judicial review which commenced in December. The judicial review challenges certain Panel findings and the Panel's failure to comply with principles of procedural fairness.
Taseko will take the necessary steps to protect this valuable asset, but at the same time, will also look at other opportunities to increase shareholder value.
Russell Hallbauer
President and CEO
================
Canada Says No to Proposed Taseko Copper-Gold Project -- Update | By Carolyn King
Canada said it won't allow Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposed New Prosperity copper-gold project in central British Columbia to proceed on environmental grounds.
In a statement, Canada's environment ministry said the project "is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects that cannot be mitigated," and has determined the effects "are not justified in the circumstances."
Vancouver-based Taseko said it "fundamentally disagrees" with the decision and "will take the necessary steps to protect this valuable asset."
The mining company has been working since 2007 to bring the 1.5 billion Canadian dollar ($1.3 billion) project into production, but faced setbacks including opposition from Canadian aboriginal groups and having to revise its initial mine plan to address environmental concerns. It says the New Prosperity deposit is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, with a measured and indicated resource containing 5.3 billion pounds of copper and 13.3 million ounces of gold.
A federal review panel tasked with studying the project concluded last October that the mine would cause significant harm to a nearby lake and grizzly bear population, and be detrimental to the aboriginal groups that used the site for traditional purposes. The expected environmental damages included impact on water quality and fish in the lake, while the effects on aboriginals included potential disturbances of burial sites, according to that report.
Taseko later sought a judicial review of the panel's report asking for the findings to be declared invalid.
Thursday, it said the panel's report contains "serious flaws" and that it believes the mine could be built "to a high standard of environmental integrity."
Canada's ruling Conservative government has strongly backed resource development as part of its economic agenda.
In the statement, Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, said: "The Government of Canada will make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations...The Government will continue to make responsible resource development a priority and invites the submission of another proposal that addresses the Government's concerns."
Taseko has said the project would boost shareholder value and bring economic benefits to local communities, including the creation of 550 direct jobs.
The company also operates and owns 75% of the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine in British Columbia.
=================
|
