A Kamloops city councillor says he’s a little surprised to see signs that plans for the Ajax mine might be resurfacing just three years after the project was rejected by all levels of government.
Denis Walsh says the city should lobby the provincial government to modify the Mineral Tenure Act – noting he’s not sure what the Ajax mine owners KGHM and Abacus Mining are proposing this time around.
“A city this size should have some say in a mine on its borders that could have very detrimental environmental effects. That’s a very big concern,” he told NL News. “The other issue is if its the same plan that they brought forward three to four years ago, I would not be in favour of it. We’ll have to see what their plans are.”
Walsh’s comments come as the mine owners announced the opening of a new Kamloops office, two months after they hired a project superintendent, Michael Wypych.
“There have been other cities that have also also requested [a modification to the Mineral Tenure Act] and I think it just kind of got lost in the shuffle, especially with an election this year,” added Walsh.
“Basically, that will be our job as a council, I think, because of this threat.”
Its not the first time Walsh has lobbied for a review on the Act. He made similar comments to NL News in Sept. 2019, after a statement from Abacus Mining said the Ajax mine project could still happen.
“Highland Valley, New Gold, I mean we’re a hub basically for mining companies. So I don’t believe anybody on council is against mining, it’s just that this is such a strange project,” Walsh said at that time. “It’s the first urban mine that’s been presented in B.C., and it just so happens to be a kilometre-and-a-half or whatever it is from our border.”
“I can’t see how it can’t affect our city in a negative way.”
KamPlan, the city’s official community plan, indicates the majority of growth in Kamloops in the next 20 years is expected to happen in the city’s southwest sector, the area of Kamloops closest to the Ajax Mine property.
In July of this year, city council approved amendments to the Aberdeen neighborhood plan, paving the way for a new 1,600 unit housing development – Edinburgh Heights – which will be built over the next 20 years.
“I don’t know what’s changed for [the mine owners], the government certainly hasn’t changed so I don’t know what their angle on this is but you know, they are obviously serious about it enough to actually hire somebody and open an office,” Walsh added.
“I think we have to start paying some attention. They are sitting on some land that has some minerals underneath it, and obviously their goal is to get those minerals.”
