KGHM Ajax Mine external affairs manager Yves Lacasse.
(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)
May 03, 2013 - 4:23 PM
QUALITY OF LIFE IS SUBJECTIVE AND A STUDY WILL ONLY BE CONSIDERED ONCE THE MINE IS IN OPERATION
Kamloops is finally getting answers from KGHM about the proposed Ajax mine, or at least a timeline of when they will have those answers.
Some 104 weeks since the city sent questions and concerns to the Environmental Assessment office and KGHM, this week mine spokesperson Yves Lacasse finally posted a response letter on the company website.
He promised council in March he would make an effort to answer each of their questions and he does respond to nearly every question in the letter, though a majority of his responses simply say more information will come when the environmental assessment is complete.
The 18-page response notes environmental and health questions will be answered with the completion of the assessment and “potential impact on fish and wildlife will be negligible.”
Lacasse says quality of life is subjective and a study will only be considered once the mine is in operation.
Visual impacts are also addressed, with Lacasse noting Knutsford will be impacted the most and the Google Earth 3D model, due out later this month, will better show the visual impacts to several areas around the city.
He expects a peak of more than 500 jobs will be created during the operation of the mine but said studies are being done to determine exactly how much manpower will be needed for construction and how many contractors will need to be sourced from outside of the Kamloops area.
The letter will be in front of council at the regular meeting next week. The assessment is expected to be complete and submitted in September at which point a six-month review period will take place. During the review period the city plans on hosting a public information session on the project.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 819-3723.
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The site map of the proposed Ajax mine.
Image Credit: SOURCE/KGHM Ajax
News from © iNFOnews, 2013