A mining project in northern British Columbia is causing concern for environmentalists who say the mine will destroy the area's ecosystem.

The company responsible for the Red Chris mine, near Dease Lake, is Vancouver-based Imperial Metals.

The site, more than 900 kilometres north of Prince George, is surrounded by untouched wilderness that is home to animals such as grizzly bears, caribou and stone sheep.

The 2,000 hectares are next to an area called “The Sacred Headwaters,” where three major B.C. rivers begin, and is considered to be the largest wilderness range in the province.

A 200-person camp is being constructed to house mine workers and an electrical substation connected to B.C. Hydro’s northwest transmission line is also being installed.

Oscar Dennis lives in the area and said despite the amount of jobs the mine could bring local First Nations, he opposes the project.

“Nothing is going to change the fact that they’re destroying the mountain,” said Dennis.

“You can’t replace it, it’s irreplaceable. If we could be bought out by money, we’d be doing it ourselves.”

In May, Tahltan Central Council President Annita McPhee said the First Nation was still waiting for answers to environmental, cultural, and rights and title concerns raised by construction of the open pit operation.

She pointed to a 2010 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that found the Federal government side-stepped a duty to prepare an environmental assessment, although the company said the latest permits come with a pledge to form a committee to review and address environmental concerns.

Bing Giroud of Imperial Metals said the company will not be chased away.

“We’re here, we’ve put in a significant amount of money and we’re not leaving,” he said.

Copper and gold will be the two main elements extracted from the mine and Imperial Metals expects to pay off its nearly $500 million investment within five years by taking 30,000 tons of metal out of the mine each day.

The company has slated the mine to begin extraction in 2014 and expects it to be operational for 28 years.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story that said Imperial Metals did not have proper permits in place was inaccurate. Imperial Metals has a federal and provincial Environmental Certificate, a Provincial Mines Act permit and an Environmental Management Act permit, as well as other permits.