(Adds details, CEO comment in paragraphs 2 to 5)
Sept 14 (Reuters) - Canada's Taseko Mines said on Thursday that the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final Underground Injection Control Permit for the company's Florence Copper Project in Arizona.
Taseko said the copper project will have a production capacity of 85 million pounds per year, with a mine life of 22 years.
The Vancouver-based firm said the project's operating cost would be $1.11 per pound of copper.
"We now have one of a very few construction-ready, fully permitted copper projects in North America," said Stuart McDonald, president and CEO.
He said with permits from EPA and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in place, construction would start soon. (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
