Anti-Ajax fundraising target passed

NEWS/ AJAX —  A coalition of community groups has raised $31,350 in crowd funding to fight the Ajax mine.

Target for the 30-day ‘David and Goliath’ campaign on Indiegogo.com was $25,000. The money will be used to hire experts to pick apart the environmental assessment application for the mine looking for “key deficiencies” that might post risks to public health and safety.

Additional donations by cheque, which are still coming in, have increased the tally to at least $35,358, the group said today, Friday.

“People responded quickly and generously to our ‘David and Goliath’ struggle to defend the health and well being of the citizens of Kamloops,” said coalition spokesperson Dianne Kerr.

“The process to this point has heavily favored the proponent,” she said.

“The federal government has refused to conduct a full independent panel review, the provincial government has refused to give an independent health impact assessment and citizens have been denied the opportunity for a public forum to cross examine mine information. Our hired experts will provide some of the much needed independent scrutiny of data provided by the proponent.”

KGHM is expected to submit its application in August or early fall.