Editorial: Curtain closes on New Prosperity

The firm denial by the federal government on environmental grounds of Taseko Mines’ proposed New Prosperity open-pit gold–copper mine near Williams Lake, B.C., wasn’t a surprise to many in the market, as evidenced by most analysts having already ascribed little or no value to the project after the previous mine-plan rejection, and Taseko shares’ muted reaction in subsequent trading in late February.

More specifically, Leona Aglukkaq, the federal environment minister responsible for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, concluded that the 70,000-tonne-per-day New Prosperity mine project “is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects that cannot be mitigated. The governor in council has determined that those effects are not justified in the circumstances. Therefore, the project may not proceed.”

It was surprising that Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke directly of New Prosperity during an unscheduled visit to the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, where the generally pro-development leader memorably described the ministry’s New Prosperity report as “damning.” (It was the first PDAC appearance by a Canadian prime minister, and he sat before a limited crowd for a question-and-answer session with incoming PDAC president Rodney Thomas.)

Harper further commented that the report stated “very clearly that the project, as previously and presently conceived, would not address the long-term destruction of [the local water resources] . . . our experts said they could see no proposed plausible mitigation measures for that.”

He emphasized that the project is “also in an area where there are unresolved land-claim issues, and local aboriginal groups . . . do not approve of the project.”

This second rejection of New Prosperity closes a long, contentious chapter in B.C. mining history characterized by one of the more passionate anti-mining campaigns seen in Canadian mining in recent decades. The effectiveness of the opposition campaign by First Nations, environmental and other groups in the face of a determined mining company supported by a pro-business provincial government speaks to the growing power and organizing ability of aboriginal and affiliated groups in Western Canada.

(As an example of Taseko’s strong-arm tactics, when we ran a single op-ed letter by a local First Nations leader explaining why the community was against the New Prosperity plan, Taseko threatened us by saying it would contact its suppliers and get them to boycott advertising in our paper.)

This dispute was foremost about who has power. For Taseko to focus — as it says it is doing — on appealing the decision on the narrow grounds of whether or not a proposed lining is permeable is missing the broader point: local people with growing political power didn’t want the mine there, so it’s not going to happen.

And this is by no means a sign that B.C. is turning against mining, as within a few days of the New Prosperity decision Imperial Metals landed substantial debt financing to finish building its large Red Chris open-pit copper–gold mine in the province’s remote northwest, and junior Banks Island Gold was issued an underground mining permit for its Yellow Giant gold property on Banks Island on B.C.’s coast, allowing commercial production at a 200-tonne-per-day rate.

The federal government had a larger presence than usual at the PDAC conference, with Harper, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird all making speaking appearances.

While there were no new policy announcements, the trio underscored the support the Conservative government has provided mining and mineral exploration in Canada, and it’s safe to say the industry appreciates it.

The list of federal government initiatives supporting Canadian miners announced in past months include: extension of the “flow-though” mineral exploration tax credit for another year; a commitment to maintaining low corporate taxes; a vow to speed up permit application processes and download major project approvals to the provincial level; and continued efforts to expand global markets and open up domestic investment to foreign countries in commodities such as uranium.

As for the tightening of regulations, the federal government has already vowed to curtail abuses of the foreign temporary worker program and force Canadian mining companies to be more open about payments exceeding $100,000 made to foreign governments.