The federal government has cited concerns about “significant adverse environmental effects” in its decision to deny approval for the proposed Taseko Prosperity mine project near Williams Lake, B.C.

Under the plan to develop the open-pit gold and copper mine, a fish-inhabited lake at the site would have been turned into a tailings-impoundment area used for waste from mining operations, and other fish-bearing waterways in the watershed would have also been destroyed.

In announcing the decision today (November 2), Environment Minister Jim Prentice also said the Mount Milligan copper-gold mine project near Prince George has received federal approval to move forward.

"The government has considered both projects carefully, particularly their environmental impacts," Prentice said in a statement. "We believe in balancing resource stewardship with economic development.”

“The Mount Milligan project has been designed in a way that minimizes impacts to the environment, while the significant adverse environmental effects of the Prosperity project cannot be justified as it is currently proposed," he added.

In July, a federal panel that reviewed the proposed Taseko project concluded that development of the mine would have negative impacts on wildlife, use of the land by First Nations, and navigation.

In January, the B.C. government granted Taseko an environmental-assessment certificate for the Prosperity project.

In a statement on the Taseko website, company president and CEO Russell Hallbauer said: "We are extremely disappointed by this decision, not only for our shareholders but for the communities that were relying on the development of Prosperity to help offset the economic situation in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.”

“Our next steps will be discussions with both the federal and provincial [governments] to look at options so that this mining project can move forward and meet the criteria that the federal government deem appropriate," Hallbauer added.