British Columbia sees mine growth and expansion in 2014

The province of British Columbia is world-renowned for its thriving mining industry and 2014 will continue to show growth and expansion in mines across the region. The end of 2013 marked the opening of the new Mt. Milligan Mine in the province’s north, while four others are under construction to begin production and expanding.

The Mt. Milligan Mine, a $1.5 billion project located in the northern British Columbia community of Prince George, shipped its first copper ore last summer. Gibraltar Mine (Taseko Mines Ltd.), also in the northern region, and Line Creek Mine in the south received Mines Act permit amendments in 2013 that resulted in a nearly $400 million investment.

Imperial Metals’ $500 million Red Chris copper-gold mine in the northeast, which is anticipated to start producing ore in mid-2014, has a 28-year mine life, and Anglo American’s $200-million Roman coal mine has also started construction and is expected to begin production this year. The mine will have an annual production capacity of two to four million tonnes of metallurgical coal.

British Columbia’s government continues to work toward its goal of facilitating the opening of eight new mines and the expansion of nine mines between 2012 and 2015. One factor supporting growth in British Columbia’s strong mining sector is its cluster of service providers. Vancouver, the province’s largest city, boasts the world’s largest concentration of exploration companies and mining professionals. British Columbia’s mining sector also takes full advantage of the province’s proximity to Asia and its world-class transportation network to get its product to market quickly.

Successful mining companies located in British Columbia include Teck, which owns or has interest in 13 mines in Canada, the United States, Chile and Peru; Walter Energy, a leading producer and exporter of metallurgical coal with markets in Asia, South America and Europe; and Taseko Mines Ltd., which operates the second largest open pit copper-molybdenum mine in Canada, and the New Prosperity Project, which is currently in the Environmental Assessment process to tap into one of the largest undeveloped gold-copper deposits in the world.