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A Portland-based environmental group is seeking to stop exploratory drilling on forest lands near Mount St. Helens as a Canadian company prepares to probe for copper, gold, and other minerals.

Ascot Resources of Vancouver, British Columbia, plans to drill on Gifford Pinchot National Forest lands in Southwest Washington beginning in early August. Ascot acquired mineral rights on the land in 2010.

Ascot would drill 30 holes from 12 drilling pads for about 40,000 feet. The company has also applied to the Bureau of Land Management for a prospecting permit on adjacent lands. John Toffan, president of Ascot, said that third-party environmental assessments are being conducted on the site by URS Corporation out of Spokane, Wash.

鈥淚f the resource is as big as we think, it will provide a tremendous amount of jobs if our project goes forward,鈥� Toffan said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l probably start with capital expenses of about one billion dollars, and we will probably hire 1,000 workers directly, which will create another 3,000 jobs as things go.鈥�

The environmental group Gifford Pinchot Task Force sued in federal court in Tacoma, Wash., last week to get the U.S. Forest Service to conduct environmental reviews and allow time for public comment.

Toffan said that Ascot has been in full compliance with the U.S. Forest Service and has not violated any environmental standards that would substantiate the lawsuit. 鈥淲e think it鈥檚 frivolous, really,鈥� Toffan said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no basis in fact.鈥�

The task force, however, claimed the project could pollute drinking water and endanger wildlife habitats, as well as cause interferences with hunting, fishing and other recreational activities that draw people to Skamania County every year.