Gold mine loc

TERRACE —Cominco is ex-
amining the idea of building a
road to its Snip gold mine in the
Iskut Valley.

But company spokesman
Merlyn Royea said any sugges-
tion the company will go ahead
is premature until it has a better
idea of costs and construction
requirements,

Cominco now services the
mine by air and by hovercraft
from Wrangell, Alaska..

Royea said the possibility of
huilding a road is based on the
general premise that a “ground
route is cheaper than supplying
a mine by air.

TERRACE. — The city is
calling in.an outside expert to
help’ it‘solve. the problem of
flooded. homes on Halliwell
Aves oon.

special. meeting ¢ of the plann-

mittee held ‘late Friday, after-

re.required fo

Alderman Mo Takhar said _
the decision was. ‘taken ata

ing and. public. works” com- -

The company is using as a
case study a 40km road leading
into the [skut from Bob Quinn
Lake at Hwy37. Most of the
final grade was laid last year.
Wl cost an estimated $13,5
million and stops approximately
32km from the Snip mine.

“That road is seen as the major
toute into the precious mineral-
rich Iskut Valley. It was built by
Prime Resources with the help

of a $7 million provincial

government loan.
Prime this year will apply for
a 24km section leading south to

_ils Eskay Creek property. A

road to the Snip mine is con-

i'tturn into a swimming poci.. His is just one of ‘17 Halliwell homes effected by -
jet on the west: end of the Berich. For. moré on. the controversy surrounding this.
aes of récent record rainfalls, turn to page AS.

Engineering director Stew ;
Christensen had been told to -
bring an hydrologist in from
either Prince George or Van-
couver ‘‘as soon as the guy'is
available,’* he added,

The. move came. in
response to .complaints.from -
residents along the west end .
of Halliwell Ave. They had .
appeared at council’s Jan. 13

year r when yOu go down i into the basement of Olivo Tessaro's S
oifie With water constantly bubbling up through the basement floor, there's not

“more than a month now,

‘the steady inflow of water in- ..

sidered an extension of the
ground routes to open the area
to more mineral and’- other
development.

“There’s now a body of ex-
perience we can look at and see
how it might affect what we
might want to do,’' Royea said
of the Prime road project.

Cominco last year rejected
the idea of building a road to
the Snip mine because the
estimated $30 million cost for
the 32km stretch was too expen-
sive,

(The company was algo coun-
ting on some type of participa-
tion from Skyline Gold which

meeting to demand action to .
end ‘basement flooding they...
have had.to contend with for”

At that meeting, Judy
Tessard- told aldermen five”
pumps have been operating -
in her home for the past five °
weeks in an effort to combat,

‘cont'd A2

Law suit filed

TERRACE — A Kitimat
woman who has been
wheelchair-bound since being
injured in a car accident a year
ago is suing
ministry and the former road
maintenance contractor.

Myrna Hoff's car crashed
near Water Lily Bay when she
attempted to avoid a washout
on Hwy37.South there on Dec,
13, 1990, . oe

Her injuries include a heart

attack, and -head and back in-
juries that. left. her a

the highways °

quadriplegic.

Hoff says the highways
ministry and North Coast Road
Maintenance were negligent in
‘failing to keep the highway in
safe condition and failing to
‘mark the hazard that day.

Hoff*s. lawyer, J.J, Camp,
also claims the ministry failed to
properly design the highway in
that...location to ensure it
wouldn't, erode and wash away. _

The trial is set to g0 ahead

Oct: 5.

had the Johnny Mountain gold
mine nearby. That mine has
since closed.)

But the rejection deserves
another look based on the cost
experience of the road Prime
built because it was less expen-
sive than first estimated. satd
Royea.

‘We're not commissioning a
major study but we are doing an
analysis of the cost structure,’

“he said.

Other considerations include
the availability of gravel and the
distance it might have to be
hauled, Royea added.

‘There's really no clear cut
answer We can come up with
yet,’” he said,

Another major consideration
is the cost of maintaining 4 road
in the winter and clearing it of
snow, Royea said.

“We know that a winter road
is a expensive proposition. We
know that from the experience
of the road to the Chenij mine
(in the Toodoggone area north
of Smithers,’’ he said.

In that situation, the Cheni’
mine found it more cost: effi-
cient to fly in the winter and not
clear the road.

"ERRACE_STANDAR])

ks at road route

And although a ground route
is cheaper than supplying by air,
Royea noted that Snip was
developed, constructed and
built based on the costs of using
aircraft and hovercraft,

kkk kk

In other Snip news, the mine
processed an average 361 tonnes
of ore a day in 1991, That’s 20
per cent more than what was
first estimated.

“Things are going very well,”’
said Royea who did add that an
increase.in the selling price of
gold would be welcome.

Orenda project —
inches forward >

TERRACE —An application to
build a $365 million pulp and
paper mill south of Lakelse
Lake has made it to acommittee
of provincial cabinet ministers,
says a senior provincial official.

The news is the first sign of
Movement for the Orenda
Forest Products application
since it submitted the proposal
to the provincial government's
Major Projects. Review Process
(MPRP) early last fall.

Provincial official Frank
Blasetti said he didn’t know
when the ministers who make
up the cabinet committee on
sustainable development would
make a decision,

““There is no deadline,” fie’

said, Blasetti declined to say
how long the application has
heen before the committee.

The ministers are reviewing
information and recommenda-
tions given it by a committee of
civil servants. which examines
the project for environmental
and socio-economic impacts.

Under the MPRP system, the
ministers can given the project
approval in principle pending
the receipt of permits, ask for a
detailed look in some areas,
order a deeper study or reject
the project,

This is the second time Oren-
da Forest Products has submit-

ted its:plan to build a mill to’

produce 173,000 tonnes of
Magazine- quality paper a year
tn the northwest.

Orenda withdrew its first pr 0-
posal to build the mill south of
Meziadin Lake early last sum-
mer after a lengthy delay by the

384 bags distributed

TERRACE —A record number
of people used the Terrace
Churches Food Bank last week,
says one of its organizers.

Terry Elkiw said 384 bags of
food for 249 people were
distributed over four days.

“It’s arecord number for the
four years I’ve been involved,
The next highest was
340-something,’’ she said,

Elkiw warned that next
month’s demand could even be
higher because past experience
has shown that the need rises in
February and in March,

The bank also noticed an in-
crease in the number of single
men applying for food, she
said.

The bank did run out of some
items but, for example, gave out
more eggs to compensate for
lack of meat, Elkiw continued,

“There’s not a pound of
anything left in the freezer,”
she said,

Backed by local churches and
donations, the food bank
distributes over a four-day
perted about one week before
social service cheques are
issued.

It tries to distribute enough’

food to Jast until those cheques
arrive.

The food bank's last distribu:
tion was in November when it
filled 101 applications for 143
bags of food.

Bogus survey hits

TERRACE ~~ A phoney breast
cancer survey is making the
rounds in the northwest yet
again,

The Skeena Health Unit
warned last week that someone
has been calling homes here, in
Kitimat, and in the Hazeltons,
claiming to be carrying out a
breast cancer survey for the
health unit.

Administrator David Bower-
ing said no such survey is being

conducted by the Skeena Health
Unit, adding that anyone receiv-
ing such calls should contact the
RCMP.

“This problem has occurred
in several northwest com-
munities
Bowering said. ‘‘We would ap-
preciate it if people check with
us before responding to any
telephone survey which claims
to originate with us,”’

in recent years,” |

provincial government in  mak-
ing a decision.

The government never did
make a recommendation but
did suggest there were worries
over that first site from. the
Nisga’a Tribal Council and the
regional district and asked
Orenda to look elsewhere.

That search ended last sum-
mer when Orenda announced it
wanted to build at the Dubose
industrial site about 8km south
of Lakelse Lake.

Speaking last week, Terrace
mayor Jack Talstra said a quick
and favourable decision is need-
ed from the provincial govern-
ment.

“ awe want to see this projeat

,’ said Talstra in adding his

cont'd A2

Many use food bank

Organizers then said the ar-
rival of child tax credits in
November helped buffer the
need for food.

The bank doesn’t operate in
December because of the Saiva-
tion Army Christmas hamper
program.

Donations to the food bank
can be made at area churches
and at Braid Insurance. There
are also bins at Overwaitea,
Safeway and Terrace Co-op,

Fishy rules,
Page AQ.
Many murder tips,
' Page All.
Safe House ...
Page Bl «*:
Junior hoop

winners,
Page B5.

Northwest Roundup

PRINCE. RUPERT’ —
Renovations worth at least
$6.5 million will improve the
capacity of (he grain terminal
here.

Scheduled by 1993 ‘at
‘Prince Rupert Grain are. the
installation: of two cleaner

"batteries ‘and replacement of
20 sieves.
Te The:
: handling capaclty by 600.ton-

work -will. increase. :

“nes per hour, say terminal of

ficials.

That's sufficient to meet
an increase In shipments as
the decade progresses.

SMITHERS — Council here
wants to ralse taxes by in-
creasing the mill rate an
average three per cent.
If the increase holds in the
town's. final budget for this
year, an additional $35,000
will be coltected,

Alderman Carman Graf,
one of two council members
who voted agalnst the In-
crease, said he wanted taxes
to hold the line or for the
town to cut back.

“E don’t think it’s dime to
be raising taxes. during a
recession,’! Grat sald,

-KITWANGA — The plann--

ed start up of Westar's: mille. -

has ‘been’ delayed a - third.
time, ey

holding a foreat licence
7 Milter, in granting’ th

Originally scheduled to be
in operation. by tast fall, the
mill now won't be going back
until March 31.)

Westar was ordered by the
provincial government to |
begin working as: part of it

- But: forests’: minister. D

sald. market: conditions®'s
poor and that, atu

ae
‘2