The town council is now offering a five-year property tax holiday for owners improving industrial property under a bylaw approved in October. Industrial lots sell for about $4,000 per acre, according to town administrator Kevin Crook. The town is also offering incentives to retail property owners who upgrade downtown property, he said.
The Mt. Milligan mine holds an estimated 5.5 million ounces of gold and nearly 2 billion pounds of copper. The mine, owned by Thompson Creek Metals of Denver, Colorado, received federal approval last fall as the first new mine in B.C. in more than a decade.
It is estimated that the mine will provide 600 jobs, but Thompson Creek has no plans for on-site accommodation, which should boost motel and apartment rentals in Fort St. James, Crook added.
from Western Investor, January 2011
