Members of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation are expected to rally in Vancouver Monday morning as Taseko Mines heads to federal court hoping to bring back to life its New Prosperity copper-and-gold mine project west of Williams Lake.
Vancouver-based mining company Taseko Mines Ltd. is in court for two judicial reviews regarding procedural fairness relating to the company’s $1.5-billion New Prosperity mine project.
Taseko hopes to reverse several rulings affecting the project, which has twice been rejected by federal review panels.
The Tsilhqot’in oppose the mine, saying it will destroy sacred lands and waters.
The proposed billion-dollar mine west of Williams Lake is one of Canada’s largest undeveloped copper-gold projects.
A study released by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency in 2013 concluded the mine would pose “several severely adverse environmental effects” on water quality, fish and fish habitat in a lake considered sacred by the area’s First Nations.
READ MORE: New review critical of Taseko mine plan
The original proposal was approved by the provincial government, but rejected by the federal government in 2010 and then again in 2014.
However, the company has been calling the project “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the region.
Global News will be present outside the court this morning. More to come.
-With files from the Canadian Press
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