The Cariboo Gold Project is one step closer to breaking ground in Wells, B.C. after successfully completing the provincially mandated permitting process.
Osisko Development Corporation announced on Thursday, Dec. 12 it secured Environmental Management Act (EMA) permits for the project which is forecast to process around 1.1 million tonnes of gold-bearing ore per year.
"We are very pleased with the receipt of the EMA permits, which, together with the Mines Act permits put the Cariboo Gold project in the enviable position of being construction and operation ready,” said Sean Roosen, founder, chairman and CEO of Osisko.
In a Nov. 20 press release announcing the project’s receipt of its B.C. Mines Act permits, the company said EMA permits are related to “discharge activities to the environment, including water and air... within the areas outside of the immediate mine site boundaries,” as a result of the project’s operation.
The permit comes less than a month after the project received its mining permit following 13 months of technical review during which Osisko said it worked with local First Nations’ concerns related to the project and addressed 1,800 comments it received.
But Xatśūll First Nation, on whose territory parts of the project operates, said it is considering legal options in response to the mining permits which it said were issued to Osisko without the nation’s consent.
“Xatśūll would like to see sustainable resource development in our territory, but it has to be done properly,” the nation wrote in a Nov. 21 press release responding to the permits issued under the Mines Act.
“Xatśūll is very disappointed that the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals made the decision to grant an operating permit under the Mines Act without meeting with our leadership or obtaining our free, prior, and informed consent.”
The nation previously cited concerns over the project’s impact on water and air quality as well as its infringement on the nation’s Aboriginal title and rights to activities such as fishing, hunting and gathering medicinal plants. It also raised concerns over the health of the Barkerville Woodland Caribou herd, designated as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act.
It added the provincial government is inconsistently adhering to its commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), contrasting the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals’ decision to the Ministry of Environment and Parks’ decision to hold a consensus-seeking meeting prior to issuing the EMA permit.
At the time this is written, the nation has not yet responded to this latest permit, however an Osisko Development spokesperson responded to Black Press Media’s request for comment by stating it is committed to collaborating with First Nations and is guided by a “core belief of mutual respect.”
“We continue to actively engage and consult with Xatśūll First Nation supported by good faith efforts to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. This includes reasonable offers for financial and other benefits along substantially similar frameworks as those offered to, and agreed by, the Lhtako Dené Nation and Williams Lake First Nation."
"We remain open and proactive in continuing our regular and ongoing engagement and consultation with Xatśūll First Nation into the future because we genuinely want to find a lasting approach to be able to equitably share the benefits from this project.”
If financing stays on schedule the project will begin construction in the second half of 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. A provincial news release says construction of the mine is expected to employ about 634 people, with an initial investment of $137 million and another $918 million over the life of the mine.
"Our government is pleased that this project is one step closer to operation, which will provide good, well-paying jobs and open up long-term opportunities for local small businesses, communities, and First Nations," said Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals.
The mine will include underground mining over 16 years, ore milling at the Quesnel River Mine (approximately 58 kilometres southeast of Quesnel), storage of waste rock at the Bonanza Ledge Mine near Barkerville and a transmission line from the Quesnel area to the mine.
With files from Canadian Press and from Austin Kelly, reporter with the Quesnel Cariboo Observer.
