Company dealing with critics, going to court in Canada, too
Tri Valley Central
Another of Taseko Mines Limited’s pending projects is its New Prosperity mine in British Columbia. Like the Florence Copper Project, it appears to have critics who are skeptical of its environmental safety, and it also spends its share of time in court.
At one time, the open-pit gold and copper mine had a lot of support at all levels of government. But local native peoples, while neutral in the beginning, became opposed, claiming an impact on their culture and traditions, according to Brian Battison, Taseko’s vice president of corporate affairs.Taseko originally planned to drain the adjacent Fish Lake and a build a new larger lake. “That had the support of the provincial government,” Battison said.
The Canadian government invited the company to see if it could propose a new design that addressed the natives’ concerns, and the company did that.
A new plan that didn’t drain Fish Lake added another $300 million to the cost of the project. Gold and copper prices were such at the time that Taseko thought it would still be profitable to operate.
But native or “First Nation” leaders, as they’re known in Canada, continued to oppose it.
Plus, a particular tribe was attempting to prove in court that the land belonged to them, and argued up to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court ruled a year or more ago that they owned nearby land but not the mine. It’s been argued that New Prosperity is the only mine project in Canada proven to not be on aboriginal land, Battison said.
But other important court decisions await the mine. Taseko has sued over the Canadian government’s latest environmental assessment.
“We take issue with the way the federal government conducted the environmental review process,” which included “numerous mistakes” and was “unfair to our interest,” Battison said. The result was that politicians relied on a faulty report to make a decision, he said.
Taseko has also filed a defamation suit against a group called the Wilderness Committee.
“This particular group made up information, and told — I’ll call them — falsehoods,” Battison said. “And we asked them to correct the record. They didn’t correct the record to our satisfaction. So in order to defend truth, and defend the facts, we sought the court’s assistance ....
“That trial is concluded and we’re awaiting a decision, probably in the next month or two months.”
Battison said Fish Lake is actually overpopulated with fish, and its trout carry a number of diseases.
But the Wilderness Committee describes it as a nice lake:
“Fish Lake (Teztan Biny in the Tsilhqot’in language) is a mountain lake, located on the Chilcotin Plateau, 125 kilometers west of Williams Lake, B.C.
“... Fish Lake, as you would expect from its name, (has) amazing fishing for rainbow trout and has been called by the B.C. provincial government one of the top ten recreational fishing lakes in the province.
“Fish Lake runs into Fish Creek, the Taseko River, Chilko River, the Chilcotin River and finally into the Fraser River. This river network is extremely important to the survival of wild Pacific salmon.” (https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/what_we_do/save_fish_lake)
The Sierra Club states that even if the mine doesn’t drain Fish Lake, the crucial Little Fish Lake will be destroyed:
“Taseko’s revised project avoids draining picturesque Fish Lake, home to 80,000 rainbow trout and once featured on a B.C. tourism brochure. Instead, Fish Lake would be surrounded by the proposed open-pit mine and unusable for the life of the mine (up to 33 years). Little Fish Lake, which is crucial to the ecosystem that supports the unique trout population, would be destroyed.” (http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/our-work/hotspots/fish-lake).
Mining Watch Canada says the New Prosperity mine has been rejected twice through Canada’s environmental assessment process (CEAA) “due to ongoing Indigenous opposition and serious environmental risks.”
Mining Watch further criticized the Taseko’s suit v. the Wilderness Committee:
“A SLAPP (“strategic lawsuit against public participation”) suit against our friends the Wilderness Committee is atrocious,” said Tsilhqot’in leader and Xeni Gwet’in councilor Marilyn Baptiste. “The Tsilhqot’in opposition to both Prosperity Mine proposals was voiced by elders, youth and leaders, and experts agreed in both CEAA panel reviews. Our voices echo this position every day at the thought of anyone destroying our wild rainbow trout or grizzly bear habitat and not considering our future generations.” (http://www.miningwatch.ca/blog)
Photo: Moonrise over Fish Lake (WC Files)
