Williams Lake, B.C. – The provincial government is poised make a decision on the proposed restart of the Mt. Polley mine within days.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed the decision would be released by the “end of the month or early July” in an email to 250 News Monday.

“We want to see the mine re-opened as soon as possible for the communities of Likely, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House and the families that depend on the jobs it provides but we must make sure this is done in a way that protects the environment,” said spokesperson David Haslam earlier this month.

Mine operator Imperial Metals filed an application for re-starting operations in March while a technical review started March 30.

A public comment period ended on May 2.

A decision can’t come soon enough for United Steelworkers Local 1-425 president Paul French.

“We really want to get guys back to work,” he said. “There’s over 120 people left on site including management. It was over 400 July of last year, and that’s a significant amount of people that do not have a job.”