Employees at Taseko Mines Ltd.’s New Prosperity gold-copper project were obstructed from working at the proposed mine site Saturday, prompting the company to take legal action.
Taseko had been given provincial approval to do drilling, excavation, timber clearing, road construction and other exploratory work, despite the fact the mine has yet to be approved, pending a second environmental assessment.
But last week, the Tsilhqot’in Nation asked the B.C. Supreme Court for an injunction to invalidate the approval on the grounds Crown officials breached their duties to consult and accommodate the Tsilhqot’in and failed to extend even “the most basic courtesies of consultation.”
Xeni Gwet’in chief Marilyn Baptiste said, “This company went through years of exploration for its failed first bid.
“Now they want to go back in there and drill more holes, dig nearly 60 test pits and clear over 23 kilometres of road, all for this new mine proposal that the company knows – and has publicly stated – is worse for the environment than its preferred option.”
For it’s part, Taseko said in a release that “the information and knowledge obtained from this work is important to saving Fish Lake, which we know is important to First Nations.
“The work consists of test pitting and drilling. A test pit is a hole dug by a backhoe to a depth of about 10 feet. The hole is then immediately filled back in and reclaimed. Drilling consists of drilling three- to four-inch wide holes to varying depths.”
Taseko claims workers were obstructed from accessing the proposed mine site Saturday, and has subsequently taken legal action. The company is seeking a restraining order against any further obstructions.
For more about Prosperity, check out Business in Vancouver’s award-winning “Chasing Prosperity” series (issues 1101-1104; November 30 – December 27, 2010.)
Jennifer Harrison
@JHarrisonBIV