KGHM Ajax Will Not Pay More For City Review

Posted by Stop Ajax Mine on October 25th, 2016 5:26am

The company behind the proposed Ajax mine south of Kamloops will not be paying any more money toward completion of a city-commissioned study of its application.

In a letter to Kamloops council, KGHM Ajax project manager Chris Wild said the company will not offer more than the $300,000 is originally committed to fund the study by SLR Consulting.
The consultants have told council the cost of the study has exceeded the original $300,000 estimate and another $200,000 is needed for completion. SLR has cited delays in the environmental-assessment process as the reason behind the need for additional funds.

“In 2015, KAM (KGHM Ajax) agreed to support the city’s review,” Wild wrote.
“We fully honoured our commitment by providing $300,000 to the city with
no strings attached. We planned a budget for 2016; however, that is focused on completing the regulatory environmental-assessment process.”

On May 4, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) paused its 180-day review of the mine’s impacts at day 107 so KGHM Ajax can answer questions from the public, First Nations bands and other groups. SLR alone has 800 questions about the company’s application.

In September, Allan Michener, environmental services supervisor for the city, said SLR will need about $200,000 more to finish its review due to delays in the Ajax assessment process and the difficulties in getting information from the company.
“SLR has delivered on all required tasks to date; however, there has been a significant amount of effort required by SLR and city staff to work through KGHM’s application and to work with KGHM, the BCEAO and other members of the project’s technical working Group,” he wrote. “The official timeline was suspended due to technical components that needed to be worked out and significant work continues in the background to address these components.”

The BCEAO has not set a deadline by which the mining company must respond to public submissions, though Wild told council in a second letter the company expects to submit all required information “later this year.”

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