October 15, 2012

Provincial government rejects proposed B.C. mine

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A Vancouver mining development company and a First Nations group are taking a closer look at the environmental assessment process in B.C., after the provincial government refused to issue a certificate for the construction of a proposed gold-copper mine.

“We are being very cautious at this time,” said John Plourde, executive director of investor relations with Pacific Booker Minerals Inc.

“We are practically project ready, but still got turned down. The assessment said the project should be approved, so there is a total disconnect in being turned down. We really have to take a close look at what happened here.”

Earlier this month, Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman refused to issue an Environmental Assessment Certificate to Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. for the proposed Morrison copper-gold mine.

The project is located 65 kilometres north of Smithers.

The proposal involves the operation and maintenance, decommissioning and reclamation of a 30,000 tonnes/day open-pit mine, which will produce copper/gold concentrate and molybdenum concentrate.

Construction includes a processing plant, mine facilities, sewage and waste water management facilities, explosive and fuel storage and a tailings storage facility.

An assessment of the mine proposal published by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on Aug. 21 concluded the project would have no significant adverse effects.

“Practical means have been identified to prevent or reduce any potential negative environmental, social, economic, heritage or health impacts of the proposed project such that no direct or indirect significant adverse effect is predicted or expected,” concluded the report.

It also stated that it would be necessary to implement mitigation measures.

In addition, the report concluded that the issues identified by First Nations, government agencies and the public, which were part of the environmental assessment, were adequately and reasonably addressed by the proponent during the review of the application.

Despite this report, ministers Lake and Coleman refused to certify the project, due to the potential long-term risk, which outweighed the potential benefits to the province.

In particular, the proposed Morrison Mine project was to be located directly adjacent to Morrison Lake, at the headwaters of the Skeena River, which is the second-largest producer of sockeye salmon in B.C.

On the advice of the EAO, the ministers decided there is the potential to impact a genetically unique sockeye salmon population that contributes to the Skeena River sockeye.

First Nations in northern B.C. are supporting the government’s decisions to reject the project, but still have serious questions about the B.C. EAO and the province’s mining regime.

“So, while the decision by B.C. to reject the project is welcome, it is not an endorsement of B.C.’s EAO,” said First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM) chair Bev Sellars, who is Chief of the Xat’sull (Soda Creek) First Nation.

“The EAO review actually provided a report designed to enable government to approve the project, yet the province finally rejected the mine. One wonders if this was out of concern that it would be difficult to defend an approval once the concerns of various government departments were made public.”

According to Sellars, the rejection of the proposal was the only reasonable decision to make given the huge negative impact this project would have on the Lake Babine Nation and one of B.C.’s main salmon regions.

She said the B.C. EAO’s project report identifies serious concerns by provincial and federal departments about the planned open pit mine, which support First Nations positions.

In contrast to the EAO findings, the FNWARM argue the proposal to build a massive open pit mine in a major water and fisheries watershed and on First Nations traditional lands was clearly wrong.

As a result of this decision, Plourde said Pacific Booker Minerals is now considering all available options to respond to the ministerial decision.

A decision on federal assessment is expected in the next four to five weeks.

The federal assessment is being made independently of the provincial decision.

Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. is a publicly traded company that owns 100 per cent of the Morrison property.

The estimated capital cost for the project is $516.68 million, including a $59.92 million contingency allocation.

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