Verrtnsay July @ 1999

oT

Long ne of patked tansport Bailers at the Lomak yard on
16 mark one of the more Visible affects of the pulp strike

here. The company tucks chips bul with closed pulp mills,
there's no demand. Employees have been taid off,

Hope fades
for asbestos
mine future

TERRACE — Receivers for the
‘Cassiar mine are in supreme court
this week asking 4o sell the now-
closed asbestos mine and ib
townsite piece by piece,

The move fellows the Tune 26
failure of Black Swan Gold
Mires to come up with a 10 per
cent down payment of the $4 mil-
Jin io $6 million purchase price
it bad negotiated for the entire
package,

Terms of witt agreement bad
calted for Black Suan te com-
plete payment by July 17.

The company was also required
past a $5 million reclamation
bond.

tn wal, Black Swan needed
Realy $46 million ta purchase
and start up the mine.

Cassiar Mining tion,
was placed into receivership by
the provincial govemment, its
chic creditor, in February.

That. came. after the province.
refused to loan the. company on.
other $53 million on top of the
$20 million the company had al-
ready borrowed, .

The supreme cour {hen gave an
order permilting teceiver Arthur
Andersen and Company to try
and sci the mine and town in one

pices,

But although the Black Swan
deal collapsed it is stilt trying to
taise maney to make anolber of
fet,

Company president’ Arthor
Fisher is due back in Vancouver
Gris week after visiting potential
investors in Europe.

Black Swan had carlicr reached
agreement with the United Steel.
workers, the onion reptescatiag.
Cassiar miners, for a new contract

Being
deters

TERRACE — Since the begin.
ning of April, northwest conser
vation officers bave deen forced
to relocate six bears and destroy
another 14,

Unfonunatcly, it is buman bes
haviour which fs retponsible for
the deaths of those frcars.

“The solutions & reducing the
cement of cantlict between
people and beara falls squarely on
We -houldecs of poapie in the
community." said conservation
officer Petra Rating.

Bears are auractcd to easy
sources of fi J, aud human gar-
hage is near the top of their fist,

“Sane people just wen't heed
the warnings." said Kalina,
“Recep your parhage sored inside
your house or ia closed gas

“Bears are creatures af habit,”

Haan bsve to be relueated once
ry beanie a potential danger,
adh thar bs ae where i seas
Seat they mutt be destrayed.

tint atfwers will soy

haat
ter bea Hi shows signs of

he Dolawieer, on if it is
fer wil survive in
fnie dey het

Meat pattaagte

should it make a purchase and re~
‘open the operation.

Black Swan is “continuing to
work bard to resolve all ovtstand-
ing issues so that an acquisition
of the Cassiar mine can, in feel,
be compicted ....”* a company
press release said ast week,

‘The compiny was ont of four
lo express an interest in the mine
this spring when receiver Arthur
Andertca sought potcatiat pur-
obasers,

Black Swan was required to
make a 3100,000 deposit but lost
that when its deal fell through.

Anbur Andersen pariner Jim
Stuart said Black Swan still has
access to the mine site in its at
Jempt to come up with another
deal,

And while Arthur Andersen
will consider another offer, the
order it wants to sell the mine and
town piece by piece must come
si

oon. .

That's docanse it takes time. to
onganize auctions and sales in ed-
vance of the next winter,

Tk would cost an estimated
$500,000 tx mothball the town
and mine over the wext winter.

Stuart doubted any other com-
pany will make a9 offer to buy
the mine and town in one piece.

“IE they weren’t interested be-
fore, why would they be now!"
he said last week,

Once the supreme court
penmission to sell the assett piece
by piece, Arthur Andersen will be
Organizing salex and auctions to
take place next month and in Sep-
kember.

About half of the 1,000 people
who lived in the town whea the
imine closed now remain.

clean
bears

“Someone took a bag full of
dirty diapers and put them on top
of a dumpster," secalled Katina,

“Dirty disper are very attrac
live to Dears, and the bear spread
them oll over."

Now that the bear bas devel-
oped a “taste” for dispers, the bear
will be very dangerous around 4
shild playing ouiside in diapers,

be ssid,

“Whoever is responsible for
Wat kind of action should be
Severely chastised," sald Katine,

‘The bear papulation is farge in
the northwest, ond Kalina asked
sesidents that they learn to live in
harmony with the wildlife,

Othes ways you can minimize
conflict: with bears is ta keep
fruit ees picked, make sure com-
post piles are kept away from the
house, keep pel food dishes in-
side, and clean your basbecus
after you use it.

Correction
TERRACE — A tiit of individu.
aly oni! groups wha donated itera
to Mils Memarial Hospital wap
published June 30, $992,

‘The Shriners were Heted as hav-
ing donated a billilite — a light
weder which jaundiced newbom
babies are placed — in memory
od Baby Straw,

in fac, the Straw tantly
donate? the billilie and the.
Shemees donated a billilite meter

~ a device which measures the
radiance af the fight

From front

Native food fishery

lon sackey¢ died wsrlessly there
Mcsare they coulda’! ger inside
the hatchery to spear,

“You don't like (o sce that hap.
pen,” he sard.

The Tsimshian ailocatian could
be worth more than $500,000 to
local bands.

Commercial fishing wan't be
open to all natives. Bolton seid
vnly those workers bired by the
band cowned will run the seine
Bshery,

Since the year is a triad ron,
Stertilt said most of the mancy
gencraled will prabsbly be caicn
up by capital expenses, wages,
ang other startup costs. Any prof
ils will go back to the band coun-
cil or the tribal cauncit for com-
munity or fishery projects,

‘The tribal council issued invita-
ions Thursday to ati northern
Processors ta bid for ike rights to
Process the Tsimsbian-caughl sai-
tan,

Not all the Gish will go to the

ors, however. The Kit
sumkalam band's Alex Bolton
said some fresh salmon will be
kept for direct sale to los!

e.
“We're making allowances for

Tocat sates," be said, ‘It'll belp

climinate the black market, te0."”

The Tsimshian fishermen will
be tagging the fish they release to
help researchers Icam more about
the. Skeena’s salmou stocks, Ster-
Fit said,

They"! also be training some of
thelr own people ax enforcement
officers — called rivet guardians
— wo patrol the rivers and ensure.
tagging and release procedures
are being followed.

“We're going to be doing a lot
of monitociag aod if we find any
infractions, we'll be calling DFO.
in,”” Sterriw added.

Commercial fishermen last year
caught Lk wailtion sockeye snd
2.3 million pinks atthe mouth of
the river, David Einarson, of the
Departaeat of Fisherics and
Oceans, said an sdditional 9.4

million pinks meny of sheng
from the Skeena —— were caught
by tHe commercial Alert browern
Priner Rupert and Alaske, It's not
known haw many Skeena River
salmen are taken by the Amer.
ivan Geet in Alaskan waives.

Sockryr is hy far the most valu
able of the twa species, with
Prince Rupen processors paying
around 32 4 pound as of fast
week. The price for pinks was
Jess than 25 cenis per pound,

From front

Cassiar
costs

the willngs mountain to reduce
the angle of its slopes so as to
curtall erosion.

Another mines ministry official
responsible for reclamation, Tom
Bell, said the tailings mountain is
approximately 200 feet high and
contains waste rock workings
dating back four decades.

He said three per cent of the
mounisin contains asbestos which
sould be recovered given the
right method,

Cassiar Mining Corporation had
Sel up a test project but its results.
weren't successful cnough to con-
tinue, Bell said,

“If that can happen, a liability
can be tuned into an asset,” said
Exrington of the possibility, of
tecevering asbestos from the tail-

reclamation || work
planned includes removing all
buildings and — infrastructure,
growing vegetation on those arcas
and retuming waterways there to
their natural sate.

The $3 to $5 million estimated
reclamation cost follows closely
the $5 million reclamation bond
the province had wanted Black
Swan Gold Mines to post as

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