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Taseko Mines argued in court on Wednesday that it deserves monetary compensation for the federal government’s rejection of its New Prosperity project.
Taseko Mines (TSX:TKO) argued in federal court on Wednesday that two judicial reviews should be combined into one legal action to help the company recover from the federal government’s rejection of its New Prosperity copper-gold project back in March.
Representing the company, John Hunter – of Hunter Litigation Chambers – said Taseko wants to uncover the process behind meetings it alleges occurred between a First Nations group and the Ministry of Environment, as well as receive monetary damages.
Taseko was looking to build the $1.5-billion New Prosperity, near Williams Lake, to access a large gold and copper deposit. The project had gained two approvals from the provincial government before it was rejected by the federal government in early 2014. In its rejection, the government expressed concerns about the impact the project would have on local wildlife.
“It said very clearly that the project, as previously and presently conceived, would not address the long-term destruction of [the local water system]. And that our experts said they could see no proposed plausible mitigation measures for that,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper back in March.
Hunter said Taseko spent roughly $130 million on the property until it was derailed by the federal government’s decision. What concerns the company, according to the lawyer, is an alleged secret meeting between the Tsilhqot’in National Government — a group opposed to the mine — and the Ministry of Environment. He also alleged that the First Nations group sent Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq a 60-page report, but didn’t give Taseko a chance to respond. Hunter said that Taseko only found out about the alleged meeting between the groups after seeing a series of Facebook posts by Chief Roger William.
“We didn’t get a fair hearing on this assessment,” Hunter told the court.
The company initiated one judicial review in December 2013 and another on March 26, shortly after the government rejected the plan for the mine.
In court on Wednesday, Hunter said the company deserves a chance to have a fair hearing and that the government’s decision deserves monetary consequences. The day ended with the justice reserving decision. No date was given for when it will be handed down.
Securities Disclosure: I, Nick Wells, hold no direct or indirect investment in any of the companies mentioned.