January 29, 2008
By Tom Fletcher
Black Press
The plan to extend B.C.'s electricity grid into remote northwestern B.C. could be revived soon with the support of mining projects in the region, Mines Minister Kevin Krueger says.
Construction on the Galore Creek copper-gold mine was abruptly halted late last year after mining companies NovaGold Resources and Teck Cominco saw cost estimates on the mine more than double to $5 billion due to difficulties handling mine tailings. The setback also put government plans for a $400 million power line on hold, since they depended on a $158 million share from the Galore Creek project.
"What they've told the public and the government is that they're looking to find a different place to mill the ore," Krueger said Tuesday. "They think they could save money substantially if they didn't have the mill in the Galore Creek valley because of the volume of water that Galore Creek has itself from all the melting glaciers. So they're looking for a dryer valley and using a pipeline and a slurry to move the ore to that valley. So that's sounding hopeful to us."
The B.C. government would resume work on the line up the Stewart-Cassiar Highway from Terrace once work resumes on Galore Creek. The 335-km high-voltage line requires federal and provincial environmental approval, and consultation with nine aboriginal groups who claim territory in the region.
Krueger said Galore Creek management have indicated they should know within the next 18 months whether it can restart the project. Another possibility is that other mine backers in the region could chip in to build the power line, and some have indicated an interest.
Krueger said Teck Cominco's Highland Valley copper mine near Kamloops is the province's largest consumer of electricity, and the Galore Creek deposit is considered of similar size. NovaGold owns a run-of-river power project in the area that would run the mine when water flows are high, but it needs a steady source of power year-round.
The B.C. government wants to extend its power grid north not only for industrial development, but to take remote communities off diesel generation | 
