Less visual impact, less roads and less dust under new Ajax mine layout, says Lacasse

NEWS/ AJAX — The new footprint for the Ajax open-pit copper mine will reduce the impacts of the project on Kamloops, says KGHM external affairs manager Yves Lacasse.

“We’ve grouped all of the (waste) facilities together… and what that means is that there will be less roads, there will be less visual impact, there will be less dust,” he told CBC Daybreak Kamloops this morning (Thursday).

He and project manager Warner Uhl were discussing a press release from the company today that shows tailings waste, a waste rock facility and processing plant being moved south of Jacko Lake from the originally proposed location.

Lacasse said the changes came about due to “a lot of input” and concerns from the community. He said details of the new plan were finalized last Friday.

He said the new plan will also reduce the effect of truck traffic at the mine site. “There was a lot of truck traffic that was going north of the pit. Everything has been pushed south. We’re quite confident this is going to be a much better operation.”

Uhl said the new tailings pond “will look just like a man-made lake.” He said there were concerns of a possible landslide onto the Coquihalla Highway in the original plan that proposed a dry tailings pile west of Inks Lake.

Lacasse said community feedback will continue to be important to the project. “We still want to engage the community and listen to the community,” he said. “We want to listen to the community, we want to talk to the community.”

He said open houses are being planned for June.