B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Mike de Jong overlooked Roca Mines Inc.’s Max molybdenum mine when he recently told Business in Vancouver the province should set a target date for when the next mine should open.
"We haven’t opened a new mine in B.C. in over a decade,” de Jong said.
Roca’s Max mine, which is 60 kilometres southeast of Revelstoke, was the first mine to open in B.C. in more than a decade when it began production in early 2008.
“I’d like to set a target for the opening of a new mine in B.C.,” de Jong told BIV. “You agree on who the partners are going to be and the environmental issues. Let’s come together and rally around success.”
He would not pinpoint exactly when he would like to see the next B.C. mine open.
He may not have long to wait, however.
Three mines are set to open in the province in the next few years.
They include: