ROTHENBURGER — The best Ajax PR coup yet

COLUMN — KGHM Ajax has pulled off its best PR coup yet, and it cost only $5,000, a drop in the bucket compared to what the company’s spent so far trying to convince people that blasting a huge hole in the ground next to Kamloops is a good idea.

I am in awe.

Quite some time ago, I proposed to Robert Koopmans, the communications guy for KGHM Ajax, that the company participate in a formal debate on its open-pit mine proposal.

He more or less took it under advisement.

In March last year, I editorialized that KGHM Ajax should be willing to debate the merits of its project: “When will KGHM International come out of hiding and face the public in an open debate about the merits of the Ajax project?” I asked.

A couple of weeks ago, CBC Daybreak’s Shelley Joyce asked him if the company would be willing to take part in a public debate. “You never know,” Koopmans responded.

That interested me, so I followed up with him to clarify what he meant. Is there really a chance KGHM Ajax might take part in a public debate, a debate in which a neutral moderator and formal rules of debate would give people a chance to hear pros and cons?

“I wouldn’t say no, I won’t say yes,” Koopmans said.

But it’s pretty clear he isn’t crazy about the idea. “I don’t know if it’s the best way to talk about Ajax,” he said, reverting to KGHM’s favorite “let’s have a conversation” theme.

“We’ve been having continuous conversations.”

There’s as much chance of the mining company taking part in a public debate as there is of pigs flying. There are other ways of blunting opposition.

I’ve always admired the company’s PR skills. When you’re in a business that leaves gigantic holes in the ground, you become good at it.

Today’s (Friday’s) bit of news with respect to the public review period on the environmental assessment application may be the best gambit yet. It came to light that KGHM Ajax will make another of its many community donations — but it’s the beneficiary that’s very different.

Koopmans confirmed KGHM will donate $5,000 to anti-Ajax groups that are raising money to fund a review of the enviro application. He was quoted as saying the company wants to support “responsible reviews” of its “science.”

The move puts opponents in an uncomfortable position. When I asked Kamloops Area Preservation Association spokesman John Schliermacher if the anti-Ajax groups will accept the donation, he said, “We really haven’t thought much about it.”

He said they aren’t discussing individual donations, and KGHM could have donated the money anonymously if it was serious about supporting independent reviews.

“They’re showing their true colours.” But he wouldn’t categorically rule out accepting the donation, dismissing the question as “a non-issue.”

Whether something is a non-issue, of course, isn’t always up to those who are part of the issue.

The sprinkling (more like a shower) of Ajax money among local charities — amounting to hundreds of thousands per year — has been an annoyance to anti-Ajax groups who consider it more a strategy for gaining support than sincere philanthropy.

The Stop Ajax pitch for donations on the indiegogo.com fundraising website has brought in more than $15,000 of the $25,000 goal in three days.

I’m guessing the donation from KGHM is creating some interesting behind-the-scenes discussion among the Kamloops Area Preservation Association, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment and Kamloops Moms for Clean Air, the mine’s leading opponents.

They could rationalize accepting the money by saying it’s the least KGHM could do, but there are more downsides than up. Sure, it would get them closer to the goal, but there are 27 days left in the fundraising campaign. They’d probably get there anyway.

The fundraising is a good idea, but KGHM’s counter is textbook. in fact, somebody should write a book about it after it’s all over. If the opponents take the money, they can hardly be critical of KGHM’s donations to others, or of anyone else who accepts them.

And the next time they publicly criticize the project, they’ll surely be reminded that they’re partially funded by the very company they’re in battle with.

Mel Rothenburger can be contacted at armchairmayor@gmail.com. He tweets @MelRothenburger and is on Facebook.com/mrothenburger.7.