Pretium Resources Gets Federal Environmental Approval for Brucejack

Pretium Resources’ (TSX:PVG,NYSE:PVG) share price saw modest gains on the TSX and NYSE Friday morning after the company announced that it’s received an environmental assessment decision statement from Canada’s federal minister of the environment. 
According to the minister, the company’s Brucejack project, located in British Columbia, “is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” and should move forward.

Milestone for Pretium

The news is significant for a couple of reasons. For one, it’s fairly rare for mines in BC to receive a provincial environmental assessment certificate (EAC), let alone federal approval. Indeed, Brucejack is the only BC mining project to have received an EAC in 2015, and in 2014 only Seabridge Gold’s (TSX:SEA,NYSE:SA) KSM project was given the designation.
For another, tension about mining projects is still running fairly high in BC since last year’s Mount Polley disaster. Indeed, when KSM received federal approval at the end of 2014, CEO Rudi Fronk commented that the incident “definitely … slowed down the federal approval.”
That said, for investors who’ve been following Pretium, the news likely wasn’t too surprising. Though the company has hit some roadblocks in the past — such as a bulk sample controversy back in 2013 — it’s since got back on its feet, and is checking off all the boxes to get Brucejack into production.
As Joe Ovsenek, now president and director of Pretium, said this past January, “our focus is on execution. We set out what we plan on doing and how we’re going to do it and then we deliver on that. People are seeing that we’re doing what we say we are going to do.”

Next steps

Friday’s press release doesn’t detail exactly what Pretium will do next at Brucejack, but it’s possible to glean details from previous releases put out by the company.
For instance, when Brucejack received its EAC, the BC government stated that it still required “various federal, provincial and local government permits to proceed.” Ovsenek also said earlier this year that Pretium would need to receive construction permits after receiving the EAC, and it appears those are still to come. The company will also likely need to raise some money — though it recently received an $81-million cash injection from Zijin Mining (SSE:601899,HKEX:2899), China’s largest gold producer, capital costs for Brucejack are set at $746.9 million.
As of 10:30 a.m. EST, Pretium’s share price was up 2.56 percent, at $6.41, on the TSX. On the NYSE, it was up 2.49 percent, at $4.93.
 
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Related reading: 
Pretium Comes Out Ahead After Bulk Sample Controversy
The Art of Perception and Perseverance: Pretium’s Bob Quartermain Talks Value
Pretium Resources Sees C$81-million Investment from China’s Largest Gold Producer
Pretium Resources’ Joe Ovsenek: ‘We’re Doing What We Say We’re Going to Do’
Pretium Receives Environmental Assessment Certificate for Brucejack Project