The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has determined the New Prosperity Mine project will undergo an environmental assessment by a federal review panel.
CEAA has been charged with designing a process to assess whether the proposal addresses the environmental effects identified in the environmental assessment of the original Prosperity project.
The federal environment minister has also directed the CEAA to ensure that information obtained during the previous environmental assessment is used to the extent possible in order to ensure a timely decision.
The review, including holding public hearings and preparing the report, should take no longer than 12 months, a timeline that is consistent with that of a comprehensive study.