Just over a hill, beyond the rolling grasslands that flank Kamloops, there’s a looming problem that could upend the lifestyle of neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city and, after years of debate about whether a massive open-pit mine would be a good neighbour, one city councillor is appealing to the provincial government to suspend the process, claiming it might violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The proposal for a gold and copper mine less than three kilometres from a school and even closer to homes, with a tailings pond and dam sitting above a city of 90,000 people, has (Read more…) Kamloops residents and city council since an application for the Ajax mine was made by Polish mining company KGHM Polska Miedz more than six years ago.
Many of those living closest to the planned urban mine worry about the proximity of the tailings pond — a concern exacerbated by the disastrous 2014 Mount Polley tailings pond breach — and believe that, despite promised mitigation measures, toxic dust will be carried by prevailing winds that blow from the direction of the mine over their homes and that slope stability and watersheds could be affected.