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Thursday, August 1, 2013 â Volume 26 No. 61
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Ajax rejects calls for blast test
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By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
NOW THATâS CONCENTRATION Graeme Lamperson, 12, shows he has a good aptitude for tennis (a newly acquirred hobby) as he plays a match against his father, Ron, on Wednesday morning, July 31, at the Charles Anderson tennis courts. The Parksville native was in Kamloops visiting his grandmother after attending a week-long hockey camp in Kelowna. Dave Eagles/KTW
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The city can ask but, unless a request for a full-scale test blast at the Ajax mine site comes from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) or one of the provincial ministries, itâs not going to happen. On Wednesday, July 31, Mayor Peter Milobar headed to Victoria to bring Environment Minister Mary Polak and Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett up to speed on community concerns surrounding the mine proposed south of Aberdeen. Asking the province to require a full-scale demonstration of the blasting that will occur at least once a day was at the top of his list. âIt canât hurt to ask,â he told KTW in advance of the trip. âThe worst they can do is say no. They have before.â The mine has conducted a small test blast and is using that data to model the vibrations, noise and other effects that could be produced by a full-sized blast. Calls from the city, as well as the Kamloops Area Preservation Association, for a larger test have yet to produce results.
There are things that theyâre asking that we think are not necessary.
Milobar said heâs been told another test blast would be too expensive. KGHM Ajaxâs external affairs manager Yves Lacasse said the test isnât necessary for any of the companyâs studies it is conducting for its provincial environmental review. âThereâs no issues. We donât have any issues,â he said. âWe have presented application information requirements to the government which have been approved. âThis is what we have to report on.â He said the mineâs blasting studies have already undergone more reviews than is typical for a project of this type in British Columbia. âOur reports have been reviewed by senior experts at Natural Resources Canada and an independent profes-
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sor from McMaster University and they all agree there is no need for a full-scale blast test to determine the blasting effects,â he said. A request from the city alone isnât enough reason for KGHM to create a full-sized blast. âSince joining this project Iâve gone out of my way to make sure that I responded to the city. Thatâs not going to change,â Lacasse said. âHowever, there are things that theyâre asking that we think are not necessary.â Lacasse said the EAO or a minister would have to change the scope of the mineâs application information requirements to require another blast test. âIf Peter [Milobar] talks to ministers and somehow things get changed along the way, then we will work with the government at the time,â he said.
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