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Company News Releases...
Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. Seeks to Reverse Negative Government Decision
Vancouver BC, August 7, 2013: The Company advises that it will be in
British Columbia Supreme Court beginning today, represented by well-known lawyer
John Hunter, Q.C. The Company is challenging a decision announced by the
provincial government on October 1st of last year to turn down its proposed
Morrison Copper/Gold Mine.
The Company believes the government erred in overlooking conclusions in their
own 206-page comprehensive assessment report dated August 21, 2012. That report,
which represented the culmination of an environmental assessment process that
lasted almost 10 years and cost the Company approximately $10 million, stated
that, based upon successful implementation of mitigation measures and
legally-binding conditions, the Environmental Assessment Office “is satisfied
that the proposed Project is not likely to have significant adverse effects.”
The comprehensive assessment report also concluded that the First Nations
consultation process was “carried out in good faith,” was “appropriate and
reasonable in the circumstances,” and was sufficient to “maintain the honour of
the Crown.”
In an unprecedented and surprising move, the Executive Director of the
Environmental Assessment Office rejected the conclusions of his office's
comprehensive assessment report and recommended that the Morrison Copper/Gold
Mine not be approved, a recommendation the government regrettably adopted. The
Executive Director's recommendation was based in part on a new “risk versus
benefit” test introduced after the assessment report was completed, and which
the Company was not given any opportunity to address. This test was not included
in the Terms of Reference established for the environmental assessment, was not
applied previously to other projects and has not been consistently applied since
the negative decision regarding the Morrison Copper/Gold Mine project. The
Company believes this fails to meet the requirements of procedural fairness.
If approved, the Morrison Copper/Gold Mine will generate more than 1,100 jobs
during two years of construction, plus 251 direct jobs and another 350 indirect
jobs during more than 20 years of anticipated operation of the mine. Federal,
provincial and municipal governments stand to receive $71.6 million in various
taxes and fees during the construction phase, in addition to a total of
approximately $245.7 million during the operating phase of the project. These
tax calculations do not include the BC Mineral Tax. Mineral Tax is levied on
operators of mines and quarries. Its purpose is to provide a return to the
province from commercial use and depletion of the province's resources.
Court proceedings are expected to be completed by the end of this week, with a
decision to follow at a later time. Out of respect for the court process, the
company does not anticipate conducting media interviews at this time.
If you would like to be added to our email newsgroup, please send your request
by email to info@pacificbooker.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Erik Tornquist”
Erik Tornquist, Director
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