Image Source: Vancouver Sun
According to the Vancouver Sun, the Tsilhqot’in people have claimed the property of Taseko Mines Ltd for what they call a tribal park. This park will serve to protect the Tsilhqot’in “cultural, heritage, and ecological values“, covering about 3120 square km of land. Meanwhile, the First Nation’s plan has thrown a wrench in the proposal for New Prosperity mine at Fish Lake.
The New Prosperity mine was a $1.1 billion project, mining for copper and gold. While the land is legally the company’s, the Tsilhqot’in people, who have been opposed to the mine, have claimed it as their sovereign territory. There have been so many external forces against the New Prosperity project since its proposal. Stakeholders, such as the government and the Tsilhqot’in people have been worried about the project’s environmental consequences. In fact, though it was approved by the provincial government, it was rejected twice by the federal government.
Taseko Mines Ltd.’s original plan would have also caused the loss of Fish Lake, which the Tsilhqot’in people value. Not only that, but though the project would have likely earned Taseko Mines Ltd. a large amount of money, many societal and cultural trends are against large impactful destruction of the environment. Not only would they have angered the Tsilhqot’in people but they also would have angered many of the people who saw the case in the media. So far, though the Taseko Mines Ltd. was completely prepared, the harsh external factors involved around the New Prosperity Mine have shut it down; for the moment anyways.