Ottawa approved the construction of a new oil sands project by French oil company Total SA on Thursday after six years of delays  . . . the $8.9 billion Joslyn North mine in northeast Alberta is the first to be approved in four years . . . it should be completed in 2017, making Total the sixth company  operating the Canadian oil sands mines . . . the Joslyn North mine is expected to produce a total of 100,000 barrels of oil a day (bpd) and generate $10 billion in revenue for the federal and Alberta governments over 40 years . . . the mine will provide needed revenue to the government and could create up to 42,000 jobs . . . the decision will provoke environmentalist groups who had sought to limit access to the oil sands.