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VANCOUVER — Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX: TKO) is suing the federal government in B.C. Top court and seeking unspecified compensation for any 2014 decision that blocked development of a proposed $1.5 billion gold and copper deposit.
The Vancouver-based company claims the government and it is agents – including the environment minister at that time – failed to meet their legal duties to Taseko when they blocked the New Prosperity project.
Taseko also alleges, amongst other things, that it is property was effectively expropriated without compensation whenever a federal cabinet decision on Feb. 25, 2014, made its mineral rights essentially worthless.
The company didn’t say how much money it’s seeking through the lawsuit, filed within the provincial court, but said its seeking general and punitive damages, plus interest, and any other relief the court may choose.
The authorities did not immediately return a note seeking comment.
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The suit was announced Friday, 72 hours before Taseko and the federal government are scheduled to face off in Vancouver having a related dispute before the Federal Court of Canada.
The latest claim dated Thursday pertains to an open-pit project, 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake, B.C., Taseko had promoted as a major economic driver in the Cariboo region of the B.C. Interior.
Its suit says the project might have provided about 550 direct jobs and 1,280 indirect jobs and contribute about $459-million annually to the province’s gross domestic product.
The project and its predecessor, the Prosperity project, encountered opposition over environmental issues and both were rejected in 2014 and 2010 through the Harper Conservative government on advice from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
“Because of the conduct from the Government of Canada and its agents we have no other choice but to protect the interests of our shareholders and to protect their assets,” Taseko CEO Russell Hallbauer said inside a statement.
