Mar 19, 2009 09:15 ET
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 19, 2009) - Robert Pease, President and CEO of Terrane Metals Corp. ("Terrane" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:TRX), is pleased to announce that the Company has received from the province of British Columbia an Environmental Assessment ("EA") Certificate for its Mt. Milligan copper-gold Project (the "Project") 150 km northwest of Prince George. Receipt of the EA Certificate followed a comprehensive 180-day review led by the province's Environmental Assessment Office.
President and CEO Robert Pease stated: "We are very pleased with the timely approval of our EA Certificate. This milestone approval is a testament to our environmentally responsible mine design. We look forward to successfully completing the federal EA process and building British Columbia's next major metal mine."
Mt. Milligan will be a conventional truck-shovel open pit mine with a 60,000 tpd copper flotation process plant. During the 30 month construction period an average of 370 jobs will be created; in commercial production there will be approximately 400 full time jobs. Average annual production of 265,100 oz gold and 97 million lb copper is forecast for the first six years of an initial 15-year mine life. Pending receipt of the balance of Project approvals and subject to financing, construction could commence in Q2 2010 with commercial production in Q4 2012.
About Terrane Metals Corp.
Terrane Metals Corp. is an exploration and mine development company focused on the development of the Mt. Milligan copper-gold and Berg copper-molybdenum-silver projects in British Columbia, Canada. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G)(NYSE:GG) owns a 59% equity interest in Terrane on a fully diluted basis. In July 2008 Terrane and Goldcorp entered into an agreement which grants Goldcorp an option to convert its equity interest in Terrane into a participating joint venture interest in the Mt. Milligan Project (see press release July 9, 2008).