The approval allows construction on the mine to commence in January 2016 with plans to complete in late 2018.
The project is expected to support the region with 330 jobs during its operational life of 30 years. It will extract apatite, a mineral used to produce fertilizers.
Last year, the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) said that the project was unacceptable over concerns of water contamination and opposition from the local community.
The project consortium has then submitted a revised study to Quebec’s government.
Heurtel said that the project developers have agreed to implement measures suggested by BAPE, to tackle environmental concerns.
