The Vancouver Sun reports in its Saturday edition British Columbia's first major new metal mine in more than a decade is on schedule for a summer start-up. The Sun's Gordon Hamilton writes Thompson Creek Metals said Thursday its Mount Milligan gold-copper mine is on target and on budget. "We are expecting to start the mill at Mount Milligan in August of this year. We have hit most of our major milestones and stayed on the same schedule since February," president Kevin Loughrey told The Sun. "We believe we will achieve commercial construction in the fourth quarter." There are still 1,000 construction workers at the mine, most of them all working within the mill itself. "We've got a lot of activity going on in a very small space, so there are constraints there," Mr. Loughrey said. "People are bumping into each other, almost literally." Mount Milligan is expected to employ 400 people permanently. The $1.5-billion open-pit gold-copper mine is located 155 kilometres northwest of Prince George. It is now 90 per cent completed. Mr. Loughrey said the company's second B.C. mine, the Endako molybdenum mine located near Fraser Lake, is improving its performance after a poor start to a $600-million expansion project.