Teck, NovaGold halt work on Galore Creek [UPDATE]

Nov 26, 2007 | 12:56 PM | Sean Barry

Teck Cominco Ltd. and NovaGold Resources Inc. are suspending construction at the Galore Creek copper, gold and silver project in northwestern British Columbia because of high capital costs.

The cost to bring Galore Creek into production had reached Canadian $5 billion ($5.1 billion), the Vancouver, British Columbia-based miners said in a joint statement Monday. Combined with reduced operating margins because of the strong Canadian dollar, the 50-50 venture had become uneconomical, they said.

The largest portion of the cost increase involved a complex plan to build a tailings dam and water management structures that would have extended the construction schedule by 18 to 24 months. The project also had been hit by the rapidly escalating costs affecting major construction projects due to the overall inflationary pressures on wages and materials.....





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