http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/quesnelobserver/news/116627583.html

By Tom Fletcher – BC Local News
February 21, 2011

Taseko Mines Ltd. has resubmitted its environmental application for the Prosperity Mine near Williams Lake to the federal government, with a new plan that avoids draining a lake to get at the copper and gold deposit.

In a statement released Monday, Taseko CEO Russell Hallbauer said the price of copper and gold has nearly doubled since his company began its studies in 2005.  The rising price of metals has allowed the company to budget an additional $300 million for construction and operating costs for the life of the mine. The revised plan preserves Fish Lake, which was proposed to be drained and replaced with an artificial lake to mitigate the habitat loss.

The Tsilhqot’in National Government and member aboriginal bands gained national support for their objections, and last November the federal government refused to issue an environmental permit for the project.

“Our initiative to preserve Fish Lake and accommodate the concerns of the federal government and First Nations communities is a major commitment and undertaking by Taseko,” Hallbauer said. “We look forward to working with all levels of government, First Nations communities, the City of Williams Lake and with the Cariboo Regional District on moving this project forward in the coming months.”

The B.C. Liberal government issued an environmental permit for the project, and criticized the federal process for not considering the economic benefits. B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark promised to lobby the federal government to reconsider, prompting an angry response from aboriginal leaders.

“Does Christy Clark see Russia from her living room window?” asked Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president Stewart Phillip, comparing Clark’s support of the mine to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s slogan “drill baby drill.”

[Webmin Note: While this article pertains to mainly Vancouver Island it might be prudent for local miners in the Cariboo to also be aware of this growing phenomenon and that this coming spring folks keep a sharp eye out for similar situations. Be aware.]

http://www.vancouversun.com/Gold+diggers+hunt+little+flash/4234462/story.html

Miners rush the backcountry of Vancouver Island as price for the precious metal keep soaring

By Tamara Cunningham
Postmedia News February 7, 2011

With the rising price of gold and a struggling B.C. economy, gold diggers are heading into the backcountry to find their fortunes.

“There are days it feels like the gold rush 100 to 150 years ago; the hills are crawling with people looking for a little flash in the pan,” said Ian Jensen, owner of Gold & Fish Adventures in the Vancouver Island community of Courtenay.

Jensen, 42, a boiler operator, has been turning to gold-panning and gold tours every summer for two decades.

“This is more of a hobby for me … the whole thing is an Easter egg hunt. You are looking for that next big nugget and you never know when you’ll come across it,” he said.

Jensen and his colleague, Dave Mullet, 55, mine a claim just 40 minutes from downtown Courtenay. The process isn’t always easy, but it’s rewarding and recession-proof, they said.

The duo heads into the backcountry at the first sign of spring, often passing old sluice boxes and miners’ cabins set up along the Oyster River during the Island’s first gold rush over 100 years ago. They’ll hike or rappel down cliffs to get to spots that look untouched and when they find it, they spend hours bent over, sifting through rock to look for the motherlode.

“You never know what you are going to get. I dug nine days thinking I’d hit the jackpot and got barely enough to keep me going,” Mullet said.

“Then one day I was eating lunch and picking up some magnetite for the kids back home, and I see a flash of yellow underneath. I got more gold from that one spot than I had in nine days. It was huge.”

These days, with the soaring value of gold and rising popularity of shows such as Gold Rush: Alaska, the miners are seeing more competition — sometimes on their own claim. Independent miners are heading into the mountains looking for their share of gold and are not always mindful of government-sanctioned claims or private property.

Jensen said each summer he is seeing more wild-eyed, gold-lusting men searching the creeks near Mount Washington for extra cash.

Tiny nuggets can earn up to $50 and there is always the chance of finding a jackpot.

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This forum is highly recommended to members. We are working on creating a forum for the CMA site itself but for the purposes of a more widespread perspective it might be a good idea to register on this one as well.

http://gpex.ca/index.php