The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Its steam-engulfed headframe has sat like a sentinel, looking out over and bestowing commerce upon the community of Snow Lake for close to 10 years. However, with the wane of summer and the coming of fall, the New Britannia Mine will complete its final production season. Employees have received word that the declining viability of Kinross Gold's only Manitoba operation has resulted in the decision to close the mine at the end of the third quarter of 2004. Although the mine's 50 per cent owner, High River Gold, feels that the Snow Lake region remains an attractive area for gold exploration and they are continuing to consider new initiatives under which they could pursue what they call an aggressive area exploration program, it appears that after more than nine years of operation and the production of close to 800 thousand ounces of gold, the mine has reached the outer limits of profitability. Once seen as a phenomenon in the gold mining industry for being able to economically mine ore grades that would have long before closed other producers, the mine has encountered tough times over the past year. New Britannia's general manager, Mike Kelly, says that the operation has experienced lower grade combined with difficult mining conditions, resulting in significant losses. See 'Can't' P.# Con't from P.# He admits that, because of their solid financial position, the mine's co-owner and operator Kinross, and TVX before them, has weathered the deficit thus far. "But there comes a point when if you don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, you just can't keep losing forever," he stated. Kelly confirms that various options for the site were reviewed, with the preferred operating decision being to conclude underground development and mine the already developed ore over the next four months. As a result, the co-owners have revised downward the expected 2004 production levels to 33,000 ounces (100 per cent) from the planned 68,000 ounces. However, it is expected that the mine will generate positive cash flow until closure. Kelly explained that New Britannia's original mine life was seven years. "Many people didn't believe that it would even get off the ground back in 1994," he said. "It was quite an accomplishment to get as far as we did. No other underground gold mine in the world is mining as low a grade at the tonnage rate and methods we use. We are the lowest." The GM places the lion's share of the credit for the mine's past exemplary performance squarely on the shoulders of the workers. "The workforce is world class and it has been a privilege for me to work with them," Kelly said with obvious respect. "The boss is only as good as the people that he's got working for him. If I had another mine to go to, and I could take them with me, I would." He also maintains that Kinross and High River Gold mirror his opinion of the mine's workforce. The company has had a number of layoffs in recent months and more occurring this past week, but Kelly expects things will stabilize by mid-June. At the beginning of this year, there were as many as 180 employees on the payroll at New Brit'. At the end of the week there will be 155. Some of these positions were reduced through attrition. It is the company's policy that any hourly person laid off as of November 1, 2003 will receive two weeks pay for every year worked and a further $1,000, should their remaining time with the company be lost time and AWOL free. Uncertainty This is not the first time the community has faced the uncertainty of a mine closure, nor is it the first time that they have faced it in relation to the ore body that New Britannia has worked for the past nine years. The town went through a considerable downsizing in the early 1990s when Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting (HBMS) closed the last of their area base metal mines. Previous to that, uncertainty abounded in the mid-1950s when the mine the community was founded upon, the old Britannia Gold Mine, closed after close to 10 years of operation. In the '50s, HBMS came into the picture just as that mine closed its operations and similarly the New Britannia Mine went into production shortly after the last of the Zinc/Copper mines of HBMS closed in 1994. In the latter time frame HBMS also opened and closed one zinc mine in the area, while they continue to operate another, the Chisel North Mine. That mine and its mill employ upwards of 80 people. Kelly feels there are many more ore bodies waiting to be found in the Snow Lake area; however, he admits that a serious exploration push has to take place. "I think that High River have done a really good job over the last year, compiling information on the area," he said. "At this point they have identified some key targets, and it's now a matter of High River or Kinross getting the drills turning. High River is examining this option at present," he added. While speaking on the record, Kelly also wanted to clear up any misconceptions that may have arisen on the environmental front in relation to a closure. "Kinross are very aware of their responsibilities and people can rest assured that any environmental issues will be addressed on a completely professional level," he explained. "In the United States, Kinross has an exemplary reputation in terms of shutting down and reclaiming any exhausted operation they were involved with." See 'Scattering' P.# Con't from P.# Kelly clarified that the tailings pond and surface operation will be cleaned up to government standards and pointed out some of the mine's past environmental stewardship, which saw TVX spend a considerable amount of money clay capping an orphaned arsenic residue pile that was, and still is, a government responsibility. Although it is clear everyone is on the right page about cleanup after the shut down, one part of the operation that many hope will get left behind at closure, is the mill. "I think it is possible that for an initial period after the mine comes to an end, that the mill could be left on care and maintenance," said Kelly. "This would allow for some of the area exploration to bear fruit, and if something pops up, we still have a facility intact and a tailings compound. There is also the possibility that it could be sold to a third party as well." With the impending closure comes the inevitable scattering of the workforce. Some are going to Inco in Thompson, others to Sudbury, Seabee Mine, NWT Diamond Mines and Red Lake. The town council is hoping that if workers will be going into a camp situation or plan on commuting out of a home base, that they make that home base Snow Lake. The thought is that many have a home and kids in school here already, and that Snow Lakers have always looked after each other when the need arises. As for the New Brit's considerable support to the town, which amounts to a half million dollars per year, it will continue for 2004, but will no doubt be dramatically reduced to reflect the nature of the situation past year end. This will hurt the town and so will the loss of the considerable and very generous support the mine provided for numerous causes and groups within the community, but as it has in the past and will in the future, Snow Lake will survive.5/17/2004
