FINED: Gibraltar to pay $70K for Fisheries Act transgression

BRITISH COLUMBIA – The Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine, owned 75% by Taseko Mines of Vancouver and 25% by Cariboo Copper Corp, has been ordered to pay $70,000 by the BC provincial court on June 29, 2016. Of the total, $65,000 will go to the Environmental Damages Fund and $5,000 will be paid as a fine. Gibraltar pled guilty to five offences under the Fisheries Act related to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations. The company is alleged to have failed to complete environmental monitoring as required under the regulations, failed to submit environmental reports, and failed to notify and report when effluent discharge exceeded the limit. As a result of the conviction, Gibraltar Mines Ltd. will be added to the environmental offenders registry. The registry was created in 2009, and contains the names of corporations convicted of offences under certain federal environmental laws. The Gibraltar mine near Williams Lake produces an average of 138 million lb of copper and 2.6 million lb of moly each year. With 3.3 billion lb of recoverable copper in reserves, the remaining mine life is 24 years. Photos and video from Gibraltar are posted at www.TasekoMines.com/properties/gibraltar.