News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Taseko Mines’ Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Brian Battison, took time Thursday to meet with interested parties at The Hills Health & Guest Ranch in 108 Mile Ranch.

(Photo: Taseko's Brian Battison with The Hills' Len Doucette)

Battison explained that the property by Fish Lake holds the largest underground gold and copper deposit in Canada and is the seventh largest in the world.

“The New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project is expected to generate 71,000 jobs over the course of its operation as a result of a GDP (gross domestic product) contribution of $11 billion. In addition, government revenues from New Prosperity are projected to be nearly $10 billion.

If the mine proceeds, it will create thousands of long-term jobs in the BC central interior and generate residual economic and social benefits for communities, local businesses, the province of BC, and Canada as a whole,” according to Taseko Mines.

Battison also spoke about the $1.1 billion gold-copper mine which would take two years to build and would operate for 20 years. “At one point, the emptying of Fish Lake was considered, but that is no longer the case,” says Battison. “Taseko Mines has formally submitted its Environmental Impact Statement for the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Project to the federal Review Panel. The materials contained in the Environmental Impact Statement will form the core of the materials to be reviewed and considered by the Review Panel, with a decision possibly determined in mid-January next year.”

Len Doucette, General Manager of The Hills, has previously stated, ““The lumber industry is on a decline due to the pine beetle. The population of the Cariboo is declining as well. Schools are closing, stores are shutting their doors. We need new industry or the Cariboo will not be able to sustain itself. Not only that, the tax revenues that Taseko will generate for the province and the country are in the billions. Those tax dollars are the same dollars that keep hospitals and schools open. Provincial Family programs depend on tax revenue. Besides that tax revenue, let’s not forget about the new opportunities for families with jobs and careers that the mine will be offering. The Cariboo needs an economic boost and Taseko will do that."

(Video: Brian Battison later made a presentation on the New Prosperity Mine Proposal at the 108 Mile Ranch Annual General Meeting, a video titled 'Fish Lake Preservation'.)

Len Doucette, who chaired the meeting, said, “The response to the video that Mr. Battison brought was very positive. A lot of people did not realize that the proposal intends to save Fish Lake watersheds and spawning grounds.”

More information is available at newprosperityproject.ca.

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