Snowpack readings"
are below normal

ALCAN’S LATEST survey
of snow packs that feed
the Nechako Reservoir
shows they are below nor-
mal,

The manual reading,
carried out Feb. 1, showed
the snow pack is at 89 per
cent of the long-term aver-
age — it is calculated
based on the levels from
the past 50 years — for that
date, said Dave Dhaliwal,
Alcan’s power generation
superintendent,

Core samples of the
snowpack are taken on a
monthly basis at different
locations around the reser-
voir, he said.

There was 738 mm of
“snow-water equivalent”
taken at Tahtsa Lake, 595
mm at Kidprice Lake and
235 mm at Mt. Weils,
Dhaliwal added.

The snow-water equiva-
lent is the amount of water
contained in the snowpack
that would normally flow
into the reservoir during
the run-off period. The
amount of snow-water
equivalent -is not deter-
mined by the depth, but
rather. the density of the
snow pack, he explained.

But it is too early to
make a prediction whether
the snow pack level will
attain the long-term aver-
age in time for the run-off,
Dhaliwal emphasized,
That won't be known until

Kitimat
plant

re-opens

ONE OF the two Pacific
Ammonia Ine. plants in
Kitimat, located at the
closed Methanex methanol
plant, is back in produc-
tion.

Crews spent the time
before the re-opening b
undoing all the :.:mo
ling‘work® that “was
when that plant shut down
late last year.

PAI has two operations
in Kitimat — the 370-tonne
per day Kitimat Ammonia
Modification (KAM) plant
and the S0Q-tonne per day
purge plant,

The one that's being re-
started is the KAM plant.
It uses 12 million cu.ft. of
natural gas per day but is
not reliant on Methanex
being operational to get its
supply.

Methanex closed
methanol plant last sum-
mer, saying high natural
gas prices made it uneco-
nomical to run.

Ammonia prices, driven
by a shortage, have risen
to between $260 and $300
per metric tonne, making a
PAI re-opening feasible.

The shortage has been
created by the shutdown of
a number of other North
American producers, spe-
cifically in Alberia and
the United States’ south
eastern Gulf area, again
in response to low ammo-

nia prices and high gas

prices,

had to back out,” ex-
plained PAI consuitant
Bill Eynon said,

The second reason is

natural gas prices have —
halved from their peak to |

$5.90-$6 per gigajoule
since PAI went down last
year.

While emphasizing that
gas prices are still high,
Eynon said the bottom line
was the KAM plant could
now at least operate at a
break even level.

Asked how long the :
plant might be expected {o -
be in operation this. time -
given the restart decision ©

was market driven, Eynon

conceded that’ depended |
on how long ammonia '

prices ‘held up and what
happened to natural £as
prices.

However, he said from
the company's perspective,
“the market for the rest of
the year logks good.”

Because the Purge
plant gets “its feed stock
from Methanex, it will

stay down until the metha- .

nol plant restarts.

its: §

“All high cost producers

CRIME IM
STOPPERS

635-TIPS

ALCAN OFFICIALS are carefully monitoring the
state of the snowpack which feeds into the Necha-

ko Reservoir and which,

sive Kemano hydro-electric system used to gener-
ate power for the company’s Kitimat. smelters.

Above is the Skins Lake

release water from the reservair into the Nechako

River. ALCAN PHOTO

in turn, feeds into its mas-

Spiliway, which Is used to

April.

“By that time we
should have a good idea of
how much snow accumu-
lated over the winter,” he
said. He added the run-off
usually starts in May and
continues through August.

Last year, colder than
average temperatures in
May and June caused

ee and participation may vary

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May 26
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some of the snow-water
equivalent in the snow
pack to be lost to sublima-
tion, Dhaliwal explained.
That means the snow eva-
porated without first for-
ming water,

And there’s no way to
predict whether that will
‘recur until spring arrives,
he added.

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