Metal plant site sought

A COMPANY planning to
build a $600 million mag-
nesium processing plant is
eyeing a number of sites,

Although Cassiar Mines
and Metals officials told
an audience in Prince Ru-
pert last month the port
city is the plant’s
“preferred destination”,
the company’s president
now.says they’re far from
choosing a site.

Magnesium ore would
be trucked down Hwy37
from the old Cassiar mine
tailings..pile: to.the-plant.

. “There are a number of
areas: we’ré looking at lo-
cating that plant,” Ken
Bates told The Standard.

Magnesium demand is
growing as automobile and
aircraft manufacturers turn
to the lighweight metal as
a way of cutting weight
without losing strength or
durability. It’s usually used
as an alloy with aluminum.

He said Terrace is
among the possible sites
which run west to Prince
Rupert, east. to Smithers,
south to Kitimat and north
as far as Stewart.

Prince Rupert officials
have been courting the
project, he said, which
would generate: 600 per-
manent jobs and around ©
2,500 during construction: :

The key condition is
provision of 180 mega-
watts of high-quality
power, -he said,. because
the plant would use an

electrolytic process similar:

to that of an aluminum.
plant to separate the mag-
nesium metal.

“It’s a big facility — it’s
rather like an aluminum

ie

it should
pick up

A BETTER mineral ex-
ploration season is predic-
ted this year compared to
previous years, Says the
executive director of the
Terrace Economic Deve-
lopment Authority,

' “IT don’t want to create
the impression that the in-
dustry"s situation is rosy,
but _the comments we
heard were significantly:
less negative than the pre-
vious couple of years,”
said Ken Veldman who
was at a mining trade
show in Vancouver two
weeks ago. ;

The Cordilleran Round-
up is an annual. event at-
tended by mineral compa-
nies and those interested
in the business, mo

Only $5.6 million was
spent on exploration in the
northwest, the lowest level
ever recorded. It was far
below recent boom years
in the late 1980s and early

1990s when more than = ~
$100 million would be ~

spent.
Veldman said stabilized
mineral prices, tax .breaks

‘and the easing up of gov-
ernment regulations com- -

-bined with cheaper mining °
properties should help.

One interesting project”

revival is Red Mountain, a
gold claim near Stewart.”

‘It’s been bought by
Wheaton River, the small
company operating the
Golden Bear mine up
north, -

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plant in terms of the
scale,” Bates said,

It’s not necessary for
the plant to be on tide
water, but the firm wants a
workforce and amenities
already present.

‘“We'd like a town
available,” Bates said.
“We don’t want to have to
build a town.”

The project is still a
long way from reality. :

A feasibility study now

_underway has to be com-

pleted, follawed by de-
tailed engineering, finan-.
cing, permitting and con-:
struction. "

The study is being fi-
nanced by Aluminum of
Korea Ltd., the main metal
supplier for Hyundai and
Kia car companies.

The firm put up $25
million for the study in ex-
change for a 35 per cent
stake in the project. It alsa
gets the right of first refu-
sal on all magnesium sales

and has the option ta be-
come majority owner.

If all goes well, Bates
said, the plant could be up
and running in 2003.

The advantage of the
project is that no actual
new mining is required.
The plant would use the 20
million tonnes of ore and
tailings still at the old
Cassiar mine site, contain-
ing an estimated eight bil-
lion pounds of recoverable
magnesium.

Cassiar has also repro-
cessing the tailings at the
mine site into long-fibre
asbestos.

Bates said the fibre pro-
cessing plant was opened
late last year and is now
producing fibre at a rate of
18,000 tonnes per year.

About 35 people are
working there right now,
he said, with that likely to
increase to about 70 when
it reaches full production
of 50,000 tonnes per year.

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