Prosperity Environmental Assessment Information Please click on the link to get more information about the Environmental Assessment for Prosperity Mine Project. Benefits and Costs of the Proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project Please click on the link to get more information about the Net Benefits and Costs of the Proposed Prosperity Mine Project. Please check out the things YOU can do to make a difference! First Nations and Greens Urge Credit Suisse " No Funds for Taseko's Prosperity Mine". Financier Warned of Project's 'Unacceptable' Risks for Investors and Environment
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Fish Lake - Prosperity MineTeztan Biny/Fish Lake Goes to B.C. Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, January 6th, 2009, Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations, on behalf of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, filed a Writ of Summons and a Statement of Claim in B.C. Supreme Court to protect Fish Lake from being completely and permanently destroyed by Taseko Mines’ proposed open pit gold and copper mine. Following that action, the Globe and Mail printed THIS article by Justine Hunter and ANOTHER on January 7th. FONV supports the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations and others in their efforts to protect Teztan Biny. Here is the Press release that was issued on that day: Tsilhqot’in Nation Goes to Court to Protect Lake from Acid Mining Waste
Tsihlqot’in Vows to Protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Prosperity Mine The court action, brought by Chief Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation on behalf of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, is seeking a declaration of an Aboriginal right to fish in Teztan Biny, a pristine mountain lake in the heart of Tsilhqot’in territory. For the Tsilhqot’in, the lake is sacred and its destruction unthinkable. The court action aims to permanently stop Taseko from using this natural lake as a disposal site for its toxic mine tailings, a controversial mining practice in Canada that threatens to leave a legacy of environmental contamination that will last for millennia. The proposed Prosperity Project would also require a 125 km power transmission line and the construction of a ‘replacement’ lake, something Taseko calls a Fish Compensation Plan. The project is currently entering federal and provincial environmental review processes and is set to go into development as early as 2010, if approved. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has previously opposed the destruction of the lake because of its ‘no net loss’ to fish habitat policy. Taseko’s 2007 Prosperity Feasibility Study states that the “property hosts proven and probable reserves of 487 million tonnes grading 0.43 gpt Au and 0.22% Cu at a C$5.25 net smelter return (NSR/t) per tonne pit-rim cutoff”. The current value of those metals at today’s prices would be over $10 billion. The Feasibility Study speaks of a pre-production capital cost of C$807 million, with an operating cost of C$2.9 billion over the life of the mine. On November 20, 2007 the Tsilhqot’in won a historic victory of an aboriginal right to hunt, trap and trade to over 400,000 hectares of their territory. Marilyn Baptiste, Chief of the Xeni Gwet’in Tsilhqot’in states: “A lot of our members and Elders can’t understand why we need to go to court again. We already went to court for 339 days and won. The governments took their best shot and lost. Our members are asking how many times we need to win in court to have our rights respected. However, if it takes another court case, we’ll do it: whatever it takes to protect our Territory.” When asked about the legal foundation of the court action, lawyer Jack Woodward stated “The provincial government simply has no constitutional authority to extinguish Aboriginal fishing rights.” If the court action is successful, the Prosperity Project, as currently proposed, will be barred from proceeding. Media Contact: Joe Alphonse Director of Government Services Tsilhqot'in National Government #253 4th Avenue North, Williams Lake, BC V2G-4T4 Phone: (250) 392-3918 Fax: (250) 398-5798 Cell: (250) 302-1514 or: Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government General Delivery Nemiah Valley, BC V0L 1X0 Phone: (250) 394 7023 Ext. 202  Photo by Nancy Oppermann Yes, there ARE fish in Fish Lake.
On June 9, 2009, the Prosperity Panel Secretariat held a hearing at the Xeni Gwet'in First Nations Government band office. This is one of a series of meeting to explain the federal panel process and how groups and individuals can take part in the public hearings. “After these sessions, the next big milestones that are upcoming in the federal review, by the 15th of June, Taseko, the proponent, is supposed to respond to all the comments received during the comment period on the Environmental Impact Statement (by May 25); and, by the 24th of June, the panel will determine whether or not it has enough information to move forward to the next stage in the process which is the public hearings, - Colette Spagnuolo, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel manager (as quoted in 100 Mile House Free Press) Here David Williams presents Ms Spagnuolo with a rainbow trout caught earlier the same day from Teztan Biny/Fish Lake. |
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