British Columbia Mining – Page 77

The eye of the beholder [Barkerville Gold Mines controversy] – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 21, 2012)

July 21, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Autonomous geologists, hired to analyze mining data, have tons of leeway

When Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. told investors a few weeks ago that its British Columbia-based project held the potential to cough up 90 million ounces of gold, the first reaction from industry insiders was disbelief. After all, the legendary Timmins gold camp has produced about 70 million ounces, and fewer than 100 million ounces are produced globally each year.

Their second reaction was more of a question: Who the heck calculated those numbers?

It turned out they were derived by Peter George, a veteran geologist at Geoex Ltd. The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has since intervened with many concerns about his work on Barkerville’s Cow Mountain project, and the company remains a penny stock as investors have little confidence in its stated resources. The stock spiked from 81¢ to as high as $1.67 after the report came out, but has since dropped to 77¢.

Federal agency finds holes in Taseko mine’s draft environmental report – by Dirk Meissner (Vancouver Province/Canadian Press – July 17, 2012)

July 18, 2012

http://www.theprovince.com/index.html

VICTORIA — Taseko Mines has been ordered to rewrite an environmental impact statement about a proposed gold and copper operation in British Columbia’s central Interior after a federal agency concluded a draft was riddled with gaps, deficiencies and missing information.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency detailed its complaint in a report earlier this month dealing with Taseko’s controversial, $1.1 billion mine proposal near Williams Lake.

“The draft EIS does not meet the requirements of the EIS guidelines,” said the July 6 report. “There is substantial information missing from this draft EIS. The quality of all figures in the draft EIS is very poor.”

Williams Lake-area First Nations immediately seized on the report, saying the critical response from the federal agency confirms their view that the proposed project should be rejected. Tsilhqot’in Nation Tribal Chief Joe Alphonse said in a statement First Nations have known from the start the mine could not work.

Sceptics await 11 million ounce Barkerville Gold approved NI43-101 resource statement – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – July 11, 2012)

July 11, 2012

www.mineweb.com

Barkerville Gold surprised the markets with the announcement of very large preliminary indicated gold resource assessments last week, but sceptics are awaiting official confirmation before climbing in.

LONDON (Mineweb) – One of the surprise stories last week was the announcement by Canada’s Barkerville Gold of an enormous indicated mineral resource assessment on its principal properties in central British Columbia’s Cariboo Mining District which the company said it had to release early once the latest geological assessment was made known to the Board under Canadian stock market regulations.

Normally a company would wait for the full NI43-101 report to be approved by the relevant authorities and published, but the preliminary information received from the independent consultants assessing the resource represented such a huge ‘material change in conditions’ that the directors were obliged to report to shareholders as soon as they were made aware.

Indeed, the figures presented to the Board by the independent consultants, Geoex, assessed by well-known Canadian geologist Peter George, went a lot further than this estimated 10.63 million ounce indicated resource on the company’s Cow Mountain (also known as Gold Quartz) section. They suggested a geological potential for a massive 65-90 million ounces of gold on the 6.4 km long Island-Cow-Barkerville trend covering three adjacent mountains, all with a prior underground gold mining history. Barkerville has been assessing mining these with large scale open pits.

Barkerville in spotlight over gold find – by Peter Koven (National Post – July 7, 2012)

July 8, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Did Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. make one of the greatest Canadian gold discoveries in decades? If so, investors aren’t buying it just yet. Until last week, Vancouver-based Barkerville was a little-followed junior mining company on the TSX Venture Exchange, one of hundreds. It is now in the spotlight because of a massive gold resource it reported at its Cow Mountain project in central British Columbia.

Barkerville said drilling at Cow Mountain has uncovered a staggering 10.6 million ounces of indicated gold resources. The company’s press release also stated the “geological potential” of Cow Mountain could be as high as 90 million ounces.

To put it in perspective, the legendary Timmins gold camp has produced about 70 million ounces. Less than 100 million ounces are produced globally each year. It is unusual for a company to use geological potential figures at the top of a press release like that (particularly with such monstrous numbers), and it troubled some experts.

B.C. Fraser River’s mining history still shaping waterway’s future – by Randy Boswell (Victoria Times Colonist – June 23, 2012)

June 24, 2012

http://www.timescolonist.com/index.html

British Columbia residents facing a flood emergency this weekend can partly blame 19th-century gold miners for their woes.

Two Canadian scientists have shown how the Fraser River — the waterway at the heart of British Columbia’s history, and currently the focus of a flood threat in Abbotsford and elsewhere in B.C.’s Lower Mainland — was significantly altered by 19th-century fortune seekers, whose dumped mine tailings from the Fraser’s gold-rich banks and tributaries accumulated at critical points along the southern course of the river and continue inching toward its Pacific outlet today.

The study of the ongoing “geomorphic impact” of 1800s-era placer mining in the Fraser watershed, co-authored by UBC researchers Andrew Nelson and Michael Church and published in the latest Geological Society of America (GSA) Bulletin, argues that present-day flood and fishery management for the 1,375-kilometre river — B.C.’s longest — need to account better for the “legacy effects” of the Gold Rush and carefully distinguish between the pre-1858, “natural” state of the Fraser’s riverbed and its post-Rush condition.

Millions of tonnes of gravel flushed into the Fraser by miners as early as 154 years ago have been “accumulating in the river in the Lower Mainland throughout the 20th century,” Church told Postmedia News.

Coal is big business in B.C. – (Canadian Mining Journal – May 2012)

June 12, 2012

The Canadian Mining Journal is Canada’s first mining publication providing information on Canadian mining and exploration trends, technologies, operations, and industry events.

Coal is the second most important resource exported from British Columbia next to wood products. But ask someone in the province how well the forestry industry is doing and you’re likely to be faced with an icy stare. Coal is big business as the worldwide demand for coal grows and shows no sign of slowing, particularly in rapidly industrializing and developing economies. Asia in particular is hungry for B.C.’s hard coking coal, used in steelmaking, and almost four years of a soft economy have not slowed the demand.

This demand has led to greater interest in British Columbia’s resources from international corporations, including the diversified mining giant, Xstrata Coal, which is located in Switzerland, and JX Nippon Oil & Gas (JX), based in Japan. Xstrata and JX recently announced a joint venture to acquire metallurgical coal properties in the Peace River region of northern Alberta. Xstrata Coal British Columbia will retain the significant share of the venture at 75% with JX purchasing a 25% for $435 million.

Xstrata and JX will be focusing their exploration and development efforts on three main deposits in the Peace River coalfields. The 3,800-ha Lossan coal deposit has an estimated resource of 240 million tonnes that was acquired from Cline Mining in 2011. The Sukunka coal deposit, acquired from Calgary-based Talisman Energy in March 2012, is contiguous with the Lossan property, and has an estimated resource of 236 million tonnes. Finally, Xstrata also acquired First Coal Corporation’s assets, which represented over 100,000 ha of contiguous coal licenses and applications.

B.C.’s controversial former Britannia mine now serves as museum – by Scott Simpson, Postmedia News (Canada.com – May 13, 2012)

May 14, 2012

http://www.canada.com/index.html

VANCOUVER — Marshall Tichauer was still in his teens when his father decided it was time for him to make his own way in the world. “I turned 18. My father said, ‘Get a job’ and kicked me out,” Tichauer recalled.

Jobs weren’t difficult to find in the early 1960s. Tichauer lived in West Vancouver. He landed a job just up the highway at Britannia mine, which was still very much the Howe Sound company town it had been in its heyday in the 1920s and ’30s as the largest copper mine in the then-British Empire.

Like many of British Columbia’s major early industrial mines, Britannia got its start after a series of gold rushes that began in the Fraser River system in 1858 before spreading east and north to Rossland and Barkerville.

Those early prospecting opportunities threw open the door to waves of European and Asian adventurers across the British Columbia mainland — mining, not fish, furs or timber, was the catalyst for the settlement of the province.

One project, one review — one controversy – by Scott Simpson (Vancouver Sun – May 11, 2012)

May 11, 2012

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Federal commitment to streamline the environmental review process gets mixed reviews

Federal commitments to streamline environmental reviews of major resource projects sit well with the mining industry, but not so well with environmentalists, scientists and many other notable Canadians.

Miners have been a leading voice in calling on the Harper Conservatives to amend the review process to remove what they believe are needless delays in getting projects vetted by federal regulators.

They want duplication of paperwork eliminated, and they want Ottawa to commit its bureaucracy to fixed time limits for reviewing projects and rendering a verdict.

That could mean faster turnaround times on projects that typically take a decade to develop from early drilling investigations to operating mines.

NEWS RELEASE: B.C.’s responsible resource growth to help Canada maintain its reign as a global mining powerhouse

May 11, 2012

Kamloops region is particularly poised for growth from new projects and expansions

KAMLOOPS, BC, May 10, 2012 /CNW/ – British Columbia’s robust and responsible resource sector will help propel the $140 billion in new mining investment expected across Canada over the next five years, says the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). MAC estimates that B.C. has the potential to see more than $30 billion in investment from 30 projects over the next 10 years.

“As the third-largest mining jurisdiction in the country, B.C. will be a major contributor to the overall strength of the mining industry, which we expect to remain steady for years to come. That will bring numerous economic benefits and opportunities to British Columbians, while at the same time, help Canada maintain its status as a global mining superpower,” Pierre Gratton, MAC President and CEO, said during a speech in Kamloops on Thursday to celebrate Mining Week in the B.C.-interior city.

The City of Kamloops declared May 6-12 Mining Week alongside other celebrations taking place across the province in May to recognize the importance of the industry to the B.C. economy.

The mineral exploration, development and mining industry generated $8.9 billion in economic activity in B.C. in 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The industry generated more than 21,000 direct jobs, 8,200 of which were at operating mines across the province and paid average salaries of more than $100,000 annually.

News Release: Cliffs Refuses to Provide First Point with Key Data on Decar Project

May 6, 2012

May 5, 2012, 9:35 a.m. EDT

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, May 05, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — First Point Minerals Corp. /quotes/zigman/157178 CA:FPX 0.00% (“First Point” or the “Company”) announces that it has served notice of arbitration on Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Canada Inc. and Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Inc. (collectively “Cliffs”) over Cliffs’ refusal to provide First Point with information prepared by their consultants with respect to the Decar Nickel-Iron Alloy Project in British Columbia.

Cliffs has refused to provide First Point with certain key reports prepared by consultants and contractors with respect to the Decar Project. The reporting obligations under the Option Agreement currently in effect require that Cliffs provide First Point, on a timely basis, with: “…copies of all reports…and consultants’ and contractors’ reports.”

First Point regrets having no alternative to taking this step against a major company such as Cliffs, but repeated requests by First Point for delivery of the information have been either refused or ignored, and Cliffs’ refusal thus far to provide these reports is damaging the interests of First Point and its shareholders. Management of First Point cannot speculate on the possible nature of the content of the reports that would cause Cliffs to refuse to share the information with First Point as required in the Option Agreement.

Mining company [Taseko Mines] asks government not to consider aboriginal spirituality in environmental probe – by Peter O’Neil (Postmedia News – April 30, 2012)

May 1, 2012

http://www.canada.com/index.html

OTTAWA — A Vancouver company pushing the Harper government to reconsider a controversial gold-copper mining project in the B.C. Interior has privately urged Ottawa to ignore aboriginal requests to consider native “spirituality” as a factor in their determination, according to a letter the company sent to Environment Minister Peter Kent.

A new federal environmental review panel “does not have any right to attribute significance to the spirituality of a place per se,” wrote Taseko Mines Ltd. president Russell Hallbauer in a letter obtained under the Access to Information Act and provided to the Vancouver Sun by B.C. independent provincial representative Bob Simpson.

Taseko, which failed in its 2010 bid to get federal approval after a “scathing” federal review, also asked Ottawa to not permit aboriginal prayer ceremonies at pending hearings on the revised proposal.

And children’s plays should also be banned, Hallbauer told Kent in his November letter.

Federal budget: Critics blast Ottawa’s plan to overhaul environmental review process – by Michael Woods (Toronto Star – April 18, 2012)

April 18, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Critics cried foul Tuesday over the federal government’s decision to overhaul its environmental assessment process, calling it a bid to fast-track big oil and gas projects at the expense of the environment.

And environmentalists say there’s no better cautionary tale than the proposed Prosperity mine near Williams Lake in Interior B.C., which the province approved in 2010 but the federal government later disallowed.

The Conservative government’s planned changes, announced Tuesday but first mentioned in last month’s federal budget, would hand over environmental oversight for many projects to the provinces and reduce the number of federal review organizations and departments from more than 40 to three.

Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver said the assessment process needs streamlining because the current one is duplicative and cumbersome, and small projects that pose no risk to the environment are delayed. The government says new rules would provide predictability for investors.

British Columbia to spend C$25bn improving Asian trading opportunities – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – April 3, 2012)

April 3, 2012

www.mineweb.com

BC’s Premier announced Monday the launch of the Pacific Gateway Transportation Strategy which aims to expand Canadian mining exports to Asia

RENO (MINEWEB) – British Columbia Premier Christy Clark Monday launched the new Pacific Gateway Transportation Strategy 2012-2020 to expand international trade in coal, potash, minerals, forest products, grain, container traffic and growth in air travel.

The strategy targets Cdn$25 billion in new public and private sector investment needed to meet demand, in addition to $22 billion already committed since 2005.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take advantage of the fastest growing economy in history,” Clark said. “Asia is right at our doorstep-our ports are closer than anywhere else in North America. Our government is making sure we can get our goods to market as efficiently and quickly as possible and this strategy is a huge part of that plan.”

For instance, Teck has invested more than $1 billion and hired an additional 1.000 people in British Columbia to expand its steelmaking coal, copper and zinc operations.

B.C. mining company sues environmental advocacy group for defamation – by The Canadian Press (Canadian Business Magazine – March 01, 2012)

March 2, 2012

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-publishing business magazine in Canada.

VANCOUVER – The company behind a controversial mining proposal in British Columbia has filed a lawsuit against one of its critics, alleging an environmental group has made inaccurate and defamatory comments that threaten to mislead the public.

Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO) filed a notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday targeting the Western Canada Wilderness Committee and one of its employees over statements the environmental group has made about the company’s New Prosperity gold and copper project.

The project has faced fierce opposition from environmentalists and local First Nations communities and was rejected by a federal government environmental review in 2010.

Late last year, Ottawa agreed to hear a second environmental review after Taseko promised changes designed to address environmental concerns — but those changes have done little to quiet opponents such as the Wilderness Committee.