Hudbay’s purchase of the New Britannia mine and mill property in Snow Lake is both good news and bad news for the region.
The good news is that the long-idle mill will finally have new life and that the door has opened at least a crack to a potential restart of the New Brit mine.
The bad news is that Snow Lake misses out on a state-of-the-art, $144-million concentrator once planned for the nearby Lalor mine.
That project was announced in 2011, but over time it seemed increasingly unlikely it would ever materialize. Now it never will.
Of course the reopening of New Brit as a mine, not just a mill, is a long shot and is not currently in Hudbay’s plans.
But it’s arguably less of a long shot now that a functioning mining company, not some overconfident junior miner as has been the case in recent years, is in an ownership position.
If the price of gold goes through the roof again, it’s hard to imagine Hudbay not taking a serious look at a New Brit mine revival.
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There are some legitimate reasons for Flin Flon city council to pursue its special services levy (SSL), but the idea that it will stimulate more housing construction in the community is a stretch.
According to figures provided by council, property taxes on $200,000 home in Flin Flon currently total almost $4,600 after the provincial rebate. That’s about $1,600 higher than in Creighton and about $1,900 higher than in Denare Beach.
If the SSL is renewed in 2015, as council hopes, that Flin Flon homeowner will still pay $888 more than in Creighton and $1,238 more than in Denare Beach.
If you’re unwilling to pay an extra $1,600 or $1,900 a year to live in Flin Flon, are you okay with $888 or $1,238? It seems unlikely, but if spurring housing starts is your goal, it’s at least a step in the right direction.
Incidentally, the SSL, controversial as it is, appears destined for approval for the next four years.
The Manitoba Municipal Board, which has the final say on the fee, made it clear at a hearing last week that it would base its decision only on what it heard at the hearing, not, for some strange reason, the 40-plus written objections it received.
Unlike previous forums on the SSL, last week’s hearing was a lopsided affair with a dozen people (half of them representing city council or city administration) speaking in favour and only three against.
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After six years of sporadically threatening to do so, city council may finally be prepared to abolish rules allowing ATVers limited access within municipal limits.
A group of ATVers lobbied council to establish exit and entrance routes in 2009, but in return council sought help in policing the routes to ensure public safety.
That idea has revealed itself as absurd. If young men are zipping through playgrounds on their ATVs, as is happening, what exactly is another ATVer supposed to do?
Chase him down and cuff him? Call the police with a whereabouts of the ATV rendered obsolete by speed and time? Attempt to determine who the driver is even though we all kind of look alike under a helmet?
As challenging as this issue can be for the Mounties, this is a law enforcement matter. And if the RCMP determine that the city’s allowance of ATV travel within city limits hinders their efforts, then council will likely – and rightly – suspend or eliminate ATV access.
Local Angle runs Fridays.
