‘God hid them where he put them’

Further to the role of God in mining ventures, here’s the complete text of the letter from MLA Kevin Krueger’s office to Jill and Shaun Walton with respect to the Ajax mine:

Hello Jill and Shaun

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your concerns with our office regarding the Ajax Mine Proposal and we encourage you to do so with Environmental Assessment as well if you have not already done so. The website is http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/pcp/forms/Ajax.html and it is open for public comments and concerns until July 11.

 

MLA Krueger understands your concern for your property and your mother at Ridgepointe. He wants you to be assured that modern mining in BC is a careful , productive, beneficial process. Proposals for mines are almost always controversial; our government has a very thorough, inclusive, exhaustive process to evaluate all the input, concerns, costs and benefits.  Nobody gets a mining permit without a mining plan complete from construction through operation to reclamation, inclusive.  Due diligence is under way, and that is right and good.

Some members of the public with personal interests in an area will demand that government abort the process, and just pronounce the conclusion that they want.  The same people would be absolutely outraged if they were treated that way because of opposition from folks on what they might want to do.  Those people will also expect their healthcare and other social needs to be fully funded by government when they need them; mining is a gigantic contributor to government being able to do so.

People often say “let them mine where there are no people,” not realizing that the minerals are not evenly distributed across the landscape; God hid them where he put them, and once people have invested the risk capital to find and claim the needle in the haystack, they have the moral and legal right to determine whether those minerals can be safely and economically drawn from the subsurface.

It is unfortunate that some people say destructive things about proposals, which can have the very effect that they dread, i.e. de-valuing their property in the minds of prospective purchasers.  Much of that is hyperbole, and not helpful at all.

We are confident in the environmental assessment process of both the Provincial and Federal Governments and await the outcome of the process with interest.

Thank you again for your inquiry,

Joel Neustaeter,
Constituency Assistant
Kevin Krueger, MLA
Kamloops – South Thompson