The "Prosperity Mine Decision"

[butcher99]

Like I've said before British Columbia will never be a Saskatchewan our resource based economy is defunct and and the whiners will throw up roadblocks that will always leave us a "have not" province with a hand out welfare state.....forever and ever............

No, there are no roadblocks, just rules that must be followed. In BC it appears they are very loose rules but amazingly the rules in Ottawa still hold the trump card.
How could anyone think that it was environmentally ok to kill off two lakes and the rivers that fed them to open a mine and replace this with dumping a few fish into another system to make up for it. This is no longer the 1800s nor even the 1900s. You just cannot do that anymore.

This application has failed for one reason. It was not environmentally sound. In any way shape or form. The mine has not failed, only the application to open it. If they come back with a plan that is environmentally sound it can still go ahead. This application was a plan that never should have left the drawing room. It should certainly never have passed any environmental test.

[Glacier]

By way of a press release yesterday, the Tsilhqot’in National Government expressed its deep disappointment and concern that Taseko Mines Ltd has announced to shareholders that it intends to compound all the mistakes of the past by resubmitting its failed Prosperity project.

Tribal Chair Chief Joe Alphonse said, “We are concerned that, even though its ill-conceived proposed mine was emphatically rejected, Taseko Mines Ltd. has apparently learned nothing from wasting 17 years and $100 million of investors’ money pursuing this project despite clear warnings that neither our First Nations nor the federal government could accept it.”

“The Tsilhqot’in are not against development, but it must be done with respect for us as a people, with respect for the environment, and with a scientifically solid plan."

“We had hoped that the ruling to reject the Prosperity mine proposal would serve as a catalyst for reform and a new relationship between governments, the mining industry and First Nations,” Chief Alphonse continued. “This continues to be our hope despite this attempt to revive this dead project and the unproductive conflict that it has generated since the beginning.”

Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation said, “Taseko said all the way through the process that the only way to get at the gold was to destroy Teztan Biny and the surrounding watershed. How can it be, after so many years of doggedly saying there was no other way than to drain and destroy our sacred lake, that they suddenly have a new way forward?"

“To compound matters, after the project was rejected last November, the company immediately began working with the Province and other mine supporters to revive this disastrous project without consulting our First Nations. We did receive a letter in January from the company’s president suggesting a meeting, but this was after the fact. Now we read in a company statement that it claims to have a new bid that will be acceptable – and we know nothing about it,” added Chief Baptiste. “It is very difficult in these circumstances to believe the company is acting in good faith with us, or that it has any goal other than to force this totally unacceptable mine on us.”

TNG is unanimous in its position that the Prosperity Project is dead and is interested now in turning attention towards positive projects that fulfill its environmental mandate.

“The right decision was made and it would be fruitless to look at this project again. The region needs to come up with alternative ways to economically diversify and to work with First Nations to achieve this,” Chief Alphonse said.

On November 2, 2010, then federal environment minister Jim Prentice announced the plan would not be approved, citing the “scathing” finding of the CEAA review panel report, which the federal minister said was “the most condemning” he had ever seen. The report noted the loss of Fish Lake, the inadequacies of the proposed replacement lake, the immense cultural impact and the impact on grizzlies and other wildlife would all cause “significant adverse effects. The CEAA panel and the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans also found two potential alternatives to be even worse than the rejected project. "

“It makes no sense that after 17 years, the company has found in a few weeks a new idea, or for it to claim it will be acceptable when it has not even talked to us or provided a hint as to what this grand new plan is,” said Chief Baptiste.

Chief Alphonse said: “Instead of wasting time and resources trying to bring a bad project back from the dead, we once again call on the province, local municipal government and industry to work with us to create viable diversified economic plans for this area.”

http://welcometowilliamslake.ca/index.p ... oject.html

[Glacier]

Taseko Mines Limited has submitted a revised project description to the Federal Government in pursuit of final approval of its New Prosperity Gold-copper Project.

The New Prosperity project addresses the concerns identified during the original federal review process while building on the core strengths and benefits of the original Prosperity proposal. The new proposal preserves Fish Lake and limits the impact to the environment. It aims to relieve concerns of the First Nations and the federal Panel while at the same time delivering significant economic value to British Columbia and Canada.

"We have made significant efforts to address all the necessary requirements for final federal approval. Preserving Fish Lake, which adds $300 million in capital and operating expense to the project is an example of that effort and a reflection of the depth of our commitment to the success of New Prosperity and to the principles of sustainability," says Taseko President & CEO Russell Hallbauer.

"Prosperity is the 7th largest undeveloped gold-copper porphyry deposit in the world and as such has the ability to deliver economic value and social benefit on a national scale. We are looking forward to delivering the potential of this project for Canadians, including all levels of Government, First Nations communities, the people of the Cariboo and our shareholders," concluded Mr. Hallbauer.

[Glacier]

The TNG (Tsilhqot'in National Government) is in the process of taking legal action as a means of stopping the Prosperity Mine project, but their seems to be some disagreement or infighting among the Tsilhqot'in first nation community.

In response to reports that the TNG is ‘filing injunctions’ against Taseko Mines and that Taseko Mines is ‘initiating proceedings’ against the TNG for ‘unlawful obstruction’ on the mining company’s equipment convoy to the proposed Prosperity Mine area, former TNG Chief Ervin Charleyboy said today that the situation could get ugly.

He feels strongly enough about the situation that he traveling to Vancouver tomorrow morning, on his own, to meet with three officials from Taseko Mines. “I don’t like that this is happening and I don’t like the way it’s being handled,” he explained. “I don’t like the fact that the TNG chiefs are endorsing Kerry Cook and I endorsed Scott Nelson—I think they’re using her as a pawn."

Ervin Charleyboy said that his goal in meeting with Taseko is to find out where they’re coming from, what they’d like to see and what it will take to get things on track with the TNG.

“What I want to see is employment for our people,” he explained. “Our people have nothing out there, and our young people have nothing to look forward to. I have been watching for two years and there is no employment—no movement—on Redstone reserve.”

He said that what he’d like to see is a referendum. “I want to see a referendum on this mine to find out where people are really coming from,” he continued. “I think that the TNG chiefs right now are just using our people, and just using our elders.

“They want to use our elders when something like this comes along, and I don’t like to see elders being used in that way.

“If there was a referendum, I think it would come as a big surprise to people to hear how many of our people, including many of the young people I’ve spoken to, would vote in favour of employment.”

Chief Joe Alphonse was contacted and declined to comment.

Chief Bev Sellars from the Xat’sull First Nation said that it’s never too late to go back the beginning, start over and do things right. “Taseko Mines, and especially the provincial government, need to go back to square one and fully engage the TNG,” she said. “Our young people are on board with this when it comes to aboriginal rights and titles—we need jobs, but not at the cost of our land.”

She said that this is a ‘clash of cultures,’ adding that for Taseko this is about making money and for the TNG it’s about having healthy fish and deer to feed their families for years to come. “Mines and the environment are not a good match,” she explained. “Shame on the provincial government for not doing this right from the beginning.”

Chief Sellars stated that Spanish Mountain Gold, with its project near Likely, is going about things the right way. “From the very beginning they consulted with us—we’ve been sitting down with them for a while now,” she said. “In the end we’re still concerned about the water and the health of the land, but if they can prove that the project is environmentally friendly, it’s positive for all of us.”