(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)
October 04, 2016 - 10:30 AM
KAMLOOPS - The review of the proposed Ajax Mine may cost the City of Kamloops a bit more than expected.
City administration is recommending council approve adding $200,000 to the budget to pay for SLR Consulting, the independent firm reviewing the mine’s environmental assessment application by KGHM Ajax. While KGHM Ajax has paid for the city’s consulting in the past, city administration is recommending Kamloops pay the additional $200,000 in a report to council.
KGHM Ajax provided the initial consulting money to the city, with $300,000 put aside for an independent firm in 2015. That money has nearly run out and isn’t expected to last until the end of application process, according to a city report.
The additional money is needed to continue reviewing the application. The application process was supposed to wrap up in the summer, but a temporary suspension has extended that. The process is now expected to restart this fall, but no date has been confirmed. While the application has been suspended, city staff and SLR consultants have continued to work on it.
Currently, the official application process is temporarily suspended by the provincial environmental assessment office, which means the timeline has been extended by months. The suspension came at the request of KGHM Ajax as the company needed more time to respond to questions from the public and the technical working group reviewing the application, which included SLR consultants.
Council will decide on the additional funds today, Oct. 4.
Find past stories on the proposed Ajax Mine here.
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