The offices of Taseko Mines Ltd. in Vancouver.DARRYL DYCK
The B.C. Securities Commission says it has reviewed unusual trading in the shares of Taseko Mines Ltd. last year and concluded there's no basis for taking regulatory action.
The review was announced Nov. 25, about three weeks after Ottawa rejected the company's proposal for a major gold and copper mine near Williams Lake, B.C.
The stock lost about 25 per cent of their value on Nov. 3, a day after the announcement by Jim Prentice, who was the environment minister at the time.
News reports later raised questions about unusually heavy trading of Taseko shares on Oct. 14, 2010 - about 2½ weeks before the federal government denied approval for the mine.
On that day, Taseko shares dropped by as much as 34 per cent - to a low of $4.58 - before rebounding to close at $6.21 the same day. Trading volume was also heavy that day, with about 7.5 million exchanged in Toronto and nearly 23.5 million traded in New York.
Opposition MPs alleged that there was a leak of information by the government - an accusation that was labelled "pure speculation" by John Baird, the government House leader.