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.
Snow Lake Mayor Garry Zamzow remains optimistic about the town's future despite the closure of its largest employer, the New Britannia Mine. Ownership announced Thursday it is discontinuing development of the mine and immediately laid off half of the approximately 94 affected employees. The rest are to be given pink slips over the next two to three months. While disappointed, Zamzow is encouraged by the fact that ownership is placing the mine on a care and maintenance schedule and has indicated a small exploration program will continue. Also promising, the mayor said, are Foran Mining Corp.'s ongoing development in the area and the potential for HudBay Minerals Inc., the new owners of HBMS, to take a closer look at the Snow Lake region, where it operates a zinc and copper mine. "We're wanting to be optimistic that they're going to be looking at the Snow Lake area for any possible advancements for expanding their operation here," he said. "We're hopeful they'll do some exploration work here. Exploration work is the heartbeat of the mining industry." Still, the loss of some 94 permanent jobs is a devastating blow to the community of about 1,200. Zamzow is unsure what the repercussions will be on the population. While people will undoubtedly leave the community, he said others may continue to live there while securing employment elsewhere. See 'Surprised' P.# Con't from P.# The mayor said Snow Lakers were surprised by last week's announcement on the New Brit Mine, but share his willingness to move forward. Dave Mayer, who has lived in Snow Lake for nearly 40 years and runs a local hardware store, concurred. "It's certainly not good news for the community; however, on a positive note, I think there is exploration ongoing in the area, and that's the lifeblood of a mining community," he said. The New Brit Mine was previously slated for closure last summer, but evidence of a new mineralized area changed the minds of the owners, Kinross Gold Corp. and High River Gold Mines. In announcing the closure last week, the companies stated in a press release that "exploration efforts were unable to define an economically accretive reserve." This won't be the first time the gold mine has closed. The New Britannia gold deposit has had two periods of operation from 1947-1957 and again from 1995-2004.1/31/2005
