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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Hudbay's focus away from Flin Flon and toward Snow Lake represents both good and bad news. That's the view of Tom Davie, president of United Steelworkers Local 7106, the largest union at the company's Flin Flon-Snow Lake division. 'You're going to see new hires, you're going to see people commuting back and forth in the camp they're going to have and you're going to see people moving their families to Snow Lake,' he said. 'It's where the work is right now.' Davie said while this shift is beneficial for Snow Lake, it is 'detrimental' to Flin Flon 'because when a town shrinks, it's hard to get people back and promote our tax base.' 'But all in all, for Hudbay it's good,' he added. '(Lalor is) a world-class ore body they have. I don't even know if they know the depth of it yet. It's quite large. It will be good for Snow Lake and if it employs another 400 members, I think that's great also.' Between the Lalor mine, near Snow Lake, and the Reed mine, further from Snow Lake, Hudbay is projecting an eventual need for about 427 workers. Rough estimate That is a rough estimate, however, and about 100 of those jobs are already accounted for as workers from the soon-to-close Chisel North mine in Snow Lake will transition over to Lalor. The bulk of the anticipated jobs, some 350, are at Lalor and the new ore concentrator that will be built at the mine site. Another estimated 77 jobs will open at Reed. Lalor is set to see partial production this year and full production by 2014. The much smaller Reed is set to launch production by late 2013 and wrap up five years later, in 2018. As for the camp for Lalor employees in Snow Lake, Hudbay has repeatedly said this is not a long-term project and that it wants those working in Snow Lake to ultimately reside in the community. Snow Lake has been buzzing with activity as Hudbay employees and contractors work to develop the Lalor mine. Marc Jackson, The Reminder's Snow Lake reporter, believes many Lalor workers who initially commute to Snow Lake will find it difficult to maintain two residences and will become enamoured with the town. 'Snow Lake is a safe, secure and beautiful little community,' he told the Winnipeg Free Press last year. 'I personally don't think it will be long before most who come to work at Lalor realize this.'
