NEW YORK — Thompson Creek Metals Co. is one step closer to starting up its Mount Milligan copper-gold mine in British Columbia later this year.

The Denver-based mining company received approval from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada for its fish habitat compensation plan, leaving no outstanding permits or authorizations required to begin operations, Thompson Creek said.

This keeps the company on track to start operations in the third quarter of 2013, with commercial copper and gold production due in the fourth quarter.

"We are extremely pleased to have received this approval and are committed to working with all levels of government and communities to maintain the highest standards of environmental stewardship," Thompson Creek chairman and chief executive officer Kevin Loughrey said in a statement.

The company has forecast production at 89 million pounds of copper and 262,000 ounces of gold for the first six years of operation (amm.com, Nov. 9).

The Mount Milligan Mine has an estimated life of 22 years.