The proposed project, an open-pit copper-gold mine with a capacity to process 60,000 tonnes of ore per day, will be located 90 kilometres north of Fort St. James and 90 kilometres west of Mackenzie. The ore concentrate will be transported by rail to either Vancouver or Prince Rupert for shipping to overseas smelters.

Terrane’s Vice President Corporate relations and Sustainability, Glen Wonders, says the approval is an important  step forward “We still have to satisfy the Federal regulations with the Canadian Environmental assessment and it’s difficult to say, but that could be another 4-6 months down the road.” 

 While Wonders says the mine development project is on schedule, the timing was revamped following the economic meltdown last fall “Even with the metal prices of today, this project is financially robust, what we need to do is secure the  funds for the construction of the mine.” He says that will likely happen when the debt and equity markets settle down.  Capital costs are estimated at $917 million.

The EAO Assessment Report concluded the project is not likely to have significant adverse effects, based on the mitigation measures and commitments included as conditions of the EA certificate.

 The provincial EA certificate contains 97 commitments the proponent must implement throughout various stages of the project. Key commitments address the following:

• Potentially acid-generating materials will be stored under water in the tailings storage facility or open pit to prevent acid rock drainage and metal leaching.
• Monitoring of water management, tailings storage and other facilities to ensure there is no discharge of surface water from the mine site to adjacent streams during operations.
• Implementing water and waste management plans to ensure protection of fisheries values and implementing a wildlife management plan to minimize effects on wildlife.
• Establishing an environmental management system consistent with the ISO 14001 standard.

First Nations were consulted on the assessment and the Province is satisfied the Crown's duties to consult and accommodate First Nations interests have been discharged.

The construction of the mine will take about 2 and a half years and Wonders says at the peak of construction there will be some 700 people working on the development of the mine.

 Once up and running the mine will employ about 400 people over the 15.3 year life span of the mine.