PART 5 OF 5
“The place was more like a boarding house than a jail.” — William Norfolk, 1898
TROUBLE AT THE GAOL, PAGE A7
THURSDAY
John Vicars did not like William Norfolk. William Norfolk did not like John Vicars. John Vicars was William Norfolk’s boss. They accused each other of wrongdoings. In September of 1898, their workplace drama played out under oath.
John Vica rs WARDEN
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
William Norfolk GUARD
ONLINE ALL THE TIME: BREAKING NEWS AND UPDATES AT KAMLOOPSTHISWEEK.COM Thursday, March 29, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 26 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
Group wants Ajax information But mining company argues data is proprietary By Tim Petruk STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
A Kamloops environmental-awareness group is calling on Victoria to amend its laws to allow for more transparency from the proponent of a controversial mine proposed for south of Aberdeen — but the company behind the venture is claiming certain details of the project are top secret. The request, from the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA), came as the deadline for the latest — and final — round of pre-application public consultation on the proposed KGHM Ajax Copper-Gold Mine wrapped up this week. In a letter dated March 26, addressed to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, KAPA asked for changes to the provincial Environmental Assessment Act “regarding the disclosure of baseline environmental and geological data by a proponent.” In the case of the Ajax Mine, KAPA claims in the letter it has been repeatedly stymied in requests to receive more detailed information about the potential impacts of the project — information the group claims exists, but is being intentionally withheld. Donna Sambolec, vice-chair of KAPA and spokeswoman for the group, said more detailed reports are referenced in appendices of other documents made available by Ajax staff. “They have quoted them in some of their documents,” she told KTW. “It makes it very difficult. That information would be very valuable. It will tell us the specifics.” Formed last year, KAPA is a group of people opposed to the Ajax mine in its proposed form.
The proponent of the mining project is KGHM Ajax Inc. — a joint venture between Polish mining giant KGHM and Vancouver-based Abacus Mining and Exploration. KAPA claims in its letter to the Environmental Assessment Office — one of more than 300 publiccomment submissions dealing with Ajax — that it has been been told by the proponents the information is off-limits because of its “proprietary” nature. According to Ajax, withholding proprietary information is the norm in the mining industry. “A mining company, especially in the case of both KGHM and Abacus, they’re both publicly traded companies,” said Jim Whittaker, Ajax project manager. “There are certain bits of information that are public and there are some that are not. It’s the private property of a publicly traded company.” Whittaker said more detailed reports are being submitted to government officials, noting those will become public as the application process moves forward. For now, though, given B.C.’s legislation, it would appear KAPA is out of luck. According to Sambolec, the group is left at a disadvantage without full disclosure from KGHM and Abacus. “What we’ve seen, it’s just not sufficient to be able to draft good questions,” she said. “That [further] information, it will give our researchers the technical information they need.” KAPA’s letter to Victoria echoes the same sentiment. X See KAPA A6
The Kamloops Blazers are back in the Tournament Capital following their postseason road trip to Victoria, the first postseason major-junior action in the provincial capital since 1989.
Kamloops This Week reporter Marty Hastings joined the Blazers for the busand-ferry trip to Vancouver Island, from where he has filed numerous stories, photos and video about life
on the road with the club. Coverage of the trip starts on page A27, while video and many more stories and photos can be enjoyed online at kamloopsthisweek.com.