Taseko Submits New Proposal for Prosperity

By 250 News

Williams Lake, B.C.-  Taseko Mines has submitted a new proposal to the Government of Canada for it's Prosperity Mine project near Williams Lake.

The revised plan addresses the concerns identified during the federal review process. The proposal greatly reduces environmental impacts, preserves Fish Lake and its aquatics, and enables all mine operations and related components to be contained within one single watershed.

Taseko says has been assured by the Government of Canada that it wishes to see resource projects developed and that it is not opposed to the mining of the Prosperity ore body, only the way in which it was originally proposed.

Russell Hallbauer, President & CEO of Taseko, says the new plan  is more expensive, but is feasible because  the  original plan was developed in 2005 when the price of gold was  $550 an ounce and copper was $1.50 a pound. "Today, price projections for copper average about $2.50/lb and for gold above $1,000/oz -- nearly two times the prices we used in our original assessment. It is for this reason that we are now able to consider and advance this new design proposal which adds construction costs and life of mine operating expenditures of approximately $300 million."

Given that the project re-design retains much of the original plan, Taseko is confident  Government agencies and departments will be able to rely on significant portions of the already completed environmental assessments to inform the new assessment and that we anticipate the scope of that assessment to be focused on only what has changed."

 Hallbauer adds, "Our initiative to preserve Fish Lake and accommodate the concerns of the Federal Government and First Nations communities is a major commitment and undertaking by Taseko. We look forward to working with all levels of Government, First Nations communities, the City of Williams Lake and with the Cariboo Regional district on moving this project forward in the coming months."

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