Just how close is that new mine?

By MEL ROTHENBURGER/ The Armchair Mayor

The closeness of the Ajax minesite to city homes would seem to be of more pressing importance to the people who live there than it is to the mining company.

A well-circulated 11-page letter from Jen Fretz, the City’s environmental services manager, to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office raises the issue very effectively.

The distance is as little as 1,400 meters, says Fretz, and only 950 meters from the urban growth boundary.

“Our research has yet to discover where a mine is operating in North America within these short distances from residences.”

And that’s the difference between this mine and any other. Many cities have mines nearby; none, apparently, as close as this one would be.

Fretz points out that the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office website states the mine would be located 10 km. southwest of the city. “This description is misleading as the proposed mine actually straddles the City of Kamloops southern boundary. Approximately half of the mine is located with the City of Kamloops.”

Though Fretz asks that this be corrected, the assessment office’s website still uses the 10 km. figure almost three weeks after the date of the letter.

An easy fix, one would think, but an important one.

“. . . Some residents of Kamloops have not even paid attention to any information being published about the mine because they think that it is some distance away from Kamloops,” Fretz writes.

The 10 km. number claimed by KGHM Ajax and accepted by the enviro folks was derived from an odometer reading taken during a drive to the minesite from the PetroCan station at the Versatile truck stop.

How anyone could think a measurement taken along a winding road— especially from a gas station down on the highway — could in any way be relevant is a puzzler, but maybe mining people have a different way of measuring things.

At any rate, Fretz’ letter will be put into a grinder with other questions being raised and will be the subject of a document presented to the Environmental Assessment Office by the company.

Initially, a short outline will be circulated in order to ensure all questions are being addressed. Fretz says that should be ready sometime in September or October.

After more consultation, the final response from KGHM Ajax will be drafted.

I put in a call to Nicole Vinette, the person in charge of the Ajax file at the EA Office, to find out more, and left her a voicemail explaining what I wanted.

I then got a call back for a government PR guy asking me what I wanted. He said he’d pass along my request, but I have yet to hear back three days later.

Government works in wondrous ways. No matter.

Fretz’ letter continues with a lot of questions about the direct impact of the mine on neighbourhoods. For example, specifically how much additional dust will fall on Aberdeen, Upper Sahali, Pineview Valley, Dufferin and Knutsford.

She also asks about noise and vibration, traffic and even whether the waste rock and tailings piles that will rise above the height of hills in the area will block sunlight during winter months.

We can only hope the company does a better job on the answers than it did taking its measurement from the city to the minesite.