Ottawa rejects Taseko mine project on environmental grounds

Ottawa has turned down the proposed New Prosperity mine in the B.C. Interior, marking the second time the federal government has rejected the project and rebuffing a last-ditch lobbying effort from B.C. to see it go ahead. In a statement Wednesday, federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said she had concluded the mine is likely to cause “significant adverse environmental effects that cannot be mitigated” and that the government had determined those effects “are not justified in the circumstances,” thereby ruling out the project.