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.
What will Flin Flon do when the ore runs out? That's not a question into which we put as much thought as we should. We hear of all the exploration and the rich subterranean ore bodies waiting to be tapped and perhaps think we are invincible from the inevitability facing all mining towns. Of course there doesn't seem to be reason to doubt those who say Flin Flon can keep mines going for many years to come. Who hasn't heard the familiar refrain that this town has at least another century, if not more, ahead of it? I have no inside information in this regard, but I do know that whether or not it's in my lifetime, the day will come when mining is no longer Flin Flon's foundation. Once the ore is gone, it's gone. And the simple presence of ore does not guarantee a mine. There are all kinds of ideas about what a post-mining scenario might look like. Tourism is commonly mentioned as a potential second industry, but not even the most optimistic among us believe it could come close to generating the amount of high-paying jobs granted by mining. Besides, competition is fierce. What community isn't promoting itself as a tourist destination these days? The "retirement community" concept has also surfaced. I think Flin Flon is a great fit in this category, but let's be honest. We can't even keep many of our own retirees in town outside the summer months. I guess there just comes a point in life when you've put in your time and don't want to plug in your car or shovel your sidewalk. Some say that with the Flintoba Shopping Centre, we already have our second industry. But again, the number/wage of those jobs doesn't compare. And despite a high out-of-town traffic flow, how would Flintoba realistically fare without the mine? For these reasons, we should be encouraged to see the various men and women in this community working to realize alternate industries big and small. Over at Creighton Regional Development Corp., staff hope to develop a microgravity drop shaft within the old Callinan Mine. Sounding like something out of science fiction, the facility could bring scientists from around the world whose high-tech experiments require near weightlessness. Our famous 'marijuana mine' represents further hope. Aside from being used to produce medicinal marijuana, the hope is that the underground lab might expand to include other projects that use plants as medicine. With years of experience in the field, we would presumably hold a competitive advantage for such initiatives. There are, of course, many other opportunities. Doug Eryou came up with a white wine using sap from area birch trees. Judy Pettersen manufactures and sells infant carriers out of Flin Flon, and other local businesses are taking advantage of the Internet as an international sales tool. While positive, these initiatives are small in scale when stacked beside mining. But a multi-faceted approach is just what we need. There is no single industry that could replace mining, so developing a bunch of smaller ones is key. One More Thing... It's been quite a while since this much excitement surrounded the Flin Flon Bombers. Win or lose this round (and we sure hope it's the former), this edition of the club has done hockey fans proud. Local Angle runs Fridays.
