‘Ajax mine has got to go’ protesters chant at KGHM offices
Waving at cars on Seymour Street.
NEWS/ AJAX — Spurred on by the Mount Polley Mine disaster and this week’s tailings pond leak at the New Afton mine near Kamloops, two dozen protesters rallied in front of the Seymour Street offices of KGHM International on Wednesday.
Kamloops Area Preservation Association member Paula Pick, waving at cars from the sidewalk, said the protest was partly to keep the anti-Ajax mine momentum going, and partly because of worries about Mount Polley and New Afton.
The Mount Polley tailings pond breach on B.C. Day sent tailings pond waste rushing into nearby waterways and continues to be a major environmental concern. The New Afton leak Monday night was about 16 cubic metres, described in news reports as equivalent to the size of a camper truck.
The spill, caused by a valve failure, was being contained in a ditch at the site.
Pick said the timing was coincidental to the New Afton leak but it illustrates growing concerns about tailings ponds.
“It’s just to keep the pressure on,” she said of the rally. “We’ve never done one in front of these offices before.”
Anne Neave leads chant at anti-Ajax protest.
Members of the anti-Ajax group carried placards such as “Save Jacko Lake” and “Too Big, Too Close,” and chanted slogans like “Hey hey, ho ho, Ajax mine has got to go.”
An update on the Mount Polley spill from the Ministry of Environment said Wednesday the latest fish samples from Quesnel Lake show selenium guidelines for human consumption were exceeded only in the liver and gonads.
“This means a person would need to consume one cup of lake trout, rainbow trout or whitefish liver and gonads in one day to exceed the high consumption threshold.”
Tuesday, the ministry issued a warning to the Mount Polley mine owner directing it to take prompt action to abate discharges from the tailings storage facility, saying the mine was still found to be spilling tailings into Hazeltine Creek as of Sept. 4.
While discharges have since stopped, rain might trigger further discharges, the ministry said.
“This advisory is the first step of an escalating enforcement response to a violation of the Environmental Management act.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Now that we have had an KGHM active protest, maybe what we need is a pro-KGHM demonstration.
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I think the company is doing a fine job of self promotion,Lawrence. They have a whole PR department, don’t they? Do you not have any concerns about the new tailings pond? What makes you think Ajax is a good idea?
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Will you ever get a thoughtful reply, “Kerriann”? Not even the whole KGHM-Ajax PR team would be able to provide one and that is definitely a big problem.
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