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Ajax Mine
TRU will not abandon branding strategy because of word “unearth”
KAMLOOPS - Thompson Rivers University has no plans to abandon its branding strategy, but may change one word in the proposed new slogan after critics claim it points to a bias towards the proposed Ajax mine. Lucille Gnanasihamany, associate vice president of marketing and communications at TRU, says the problem stems from the phrase “everyone has...
Emotions run high during Ajax Mine meeting, but outbursts kept at bay
KAMLOOPS - The packed conference room at the Coast Hotel played host to one of the more civil meetings held in regards to the proposed Ajax Mine. About 500 people packed the City of Kamloops town hall meeting Monday, Sept. 28, and while there were no protestrs and no placards this time around a large...
City of Kamloops staff hope public will respect intention of Ajax meeting tonight
KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops already has a 20-page list of questions for consultants to look at while reviewing the Ajax Mine environmental application but staff still wants to hear from the public on any items they may have missed. KGHM submitted the environmental application for the proposed Ajax Mine earlier this month and...
First Nation groups officially file title claim against portion of Ajax Mine site
KAMLOOPS - About a week after mining company KGHM submitted its provincial environmental application for the proposed Ajax Mine project, two bands have officially filed land title papers with the B.C. Supreme Court. Paperwork was filed with the courts by Stk’emlupsemc of the Secwepemc Nation, a group that represents the Skeetchestn First Nation and Tk’emlúps...
Your chance to ask KGHM questions about Ajax at least a month away
KAMLOOPS - You’re going to have to hold onto questions you have for KGHM International about the proposed Ajax Mine for a while yet. The mining company will not be hosting public information sessions until the mine’s application is publically released. “The information sessions will happen in the 75-day comment period, which will start soon...
Got questions about the Ajax Mine? Get them ready
KAMLOOPS - The city will kick off its own information gathering session about the proposed Ajax Mine with a town hall meeting later this month and you are invited to take part. The City of Kamloops will meet to give direction to its consultants at the Coast Hotel’s Conference Centre from 6 to 10 p.m....
Environmental application for Ajax Mine officially submitted
KAMLOOPS - The proposed Ajax Mine has taken another step forward by officially submitting an environmental application to the province. The proposed open-pit copper and gold mine, planned for just southwest of Kamloops, has been before the Environmental Assessment Office since the pre-application was submitted in February 2011. The company announced today, Sept. 14, that...
KGHM to officially pick up $300,000 tab for city review of Ajax Mine
KAMLOOPS - The company behind the proposed Ajax Mine has officially agreed to fund the city's independent review of the mine. In an informal meeting with Mayor Peter Milobar members of KGHM verbally agreed to to fund the entire $300,000 cost of the review and the city later sent a written request formally asking for...
Local First Nations hosting own review of Ajax Mine
KAMLOOPS - A group representing local First Nations will delve into the potential impacts of the proposed Ajax Mine on their traditional territory. The Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation, a group representing the Skeetchestn and Tk’emlups Indian Bands, are presenting community information sessions aimed at helping band members formulate a decision on the proposed mine, which...
Anti-Ajax coalition worries about ‘perception of bias’ if KGHM funds city’s review
KAMLOOPS – A coalition of anti-Ajax groups are concerned with the Kamloops city council decision to ask KGHM to fund their independent review. Mayor Peter Milobar met with the mining company this week and KGHM verbally agreed to pay for the city’s review of the Ajax mine. Spokesperson for the coalition Cynthia Ross Friedman worries...
KGHM gives verbal agreement to fund the city’s independent Ajax review
KAMLOOPS – KGHM International has agreed to fund the city’s $300,000 independent review of its own Ajax project, Mayor Peter Milobar said this afternoon, Aug. 26. “They don't feel opposed to it…and we're following up with that,” Milobar said, adding KGHM asked for the request in writing before it would completely agree to terms. The...
Advocacy coalition rolls into Kamloops to speak with Anti-Ajax groups
KAMLOOPS – Advocacy group Kairos is coming to town to meet with the Kamloops Area Preservation Association and its “Stop Ajax Mine” affiliates. Through an initiative called the Rolling Justice Bus, the group is conducting an eight day tour of British Columbia focusing on environmental and aboriginal justice issues. Kairos will be speaking with advocates...
Timelines for Ajax Mine consultation set
KAMLOOPS – The timeline and format for how Kamloops residents will be able to weigh-in on the proposed Ajax Mine has been decided. City council has agreed on a town hall meeting format to ensure the public’s interests are heard early on in the process and then will hold a series of special council meetings...
Air quality monitoring station on the way for Aberdeen
KAMLOOPS – Kamloops will again have a second air quality monitoring station, this time in the upper Aberdeen area. The mobile air quality monitoring station, a joint project between the Ministry of Environment, KGHM Ajax Mining and School District 73, will continuously measure air quality and weather patterns including coarse particulate matter, fine particulate matter,...
KGHM and anti-Ajax group being asked to help fund independent review
KAMLOOPS – An independent review of the Ajax Mine proposal is expected take place this fall and council has decided both KGHM and the Kamloops Area Preservation Association, a vocal opponent of the proposed mine, should help foot the bill. KGHM Ajax Mining is expected to submit its environmental application to the province by the end...
How to fund the city’s Ajax Mine review
KAMLOOPS – Once the environmental application for the proposed Ajax Mine is submitted later this summer the city plans on seeking an independent review of the proposal, but it is unclear just how that review will be paid for. Staff is asking council for an additional $300,000 to hire SLR Consulting, a firm not believed...
About those 150 businesses opposed to Ajax mine…
KAMLOOPS - At the beginning of June members of a group lobbying against the proposed Ajax Mine said roughly 150 letters had been sent to the government in opposition of the mine. This week we learned only 16 actually made it to the Ministry of Mines. According to a Freedom of Information release, 16 letters...
Chamber backs local business after councillor strikes out because of Ajax support
KAMLOOPS - A letter signed by local business people in support of the proposed Ajax Mine has come under fire recently, but not everyone feels the move to offer support to the mine is as premature as one councillor seems to think. The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce is challenging Coun. Denis Walsh's opinion that business...
Aboriginal title on Jacko Lake ‘larger than Ajax:’ KGHM
KAMLOOPS - Two local First Nations bands are claiming aboriginal title on the lands in and around Jacko Lake and the company behind the proposed mine planning to operate on those lands says it respects the assertion of title. This week the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation, made up of members of the Tk’emlúps and Skeetchestn...
Clock strikes midnight on anti-Ajax crowdfunding campaign
KAMLOOPS – The Stop Ajax Mine online fundraising campaign has officially ended and the goal was surpassed by more than $6,000. The 30-day Indiegogo campaign ended at midnight, June 19, and raised $31,350. Additional donations by cheque raised the tally to $35,358. “We are so very grateful to each of the hundreds of donors who...
Aboriginal title declared on Jacko Lake
KAMLOOPS - The Jacko Lake and surrounding area has significant spiritual and historical importance to the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation, and as a result, the nation has declared title over the property. The property, located within the First Nations territory and part of the site of the proposed Ajax Mine, is a ‘cultural keystone area’...
‘Help Stop the Ajax Mine’ fundraiser surpasses $25,000 goal
KAMLOOPS - The groups aiming to raise at least $25,000 to hire 'independent experts' to analyze the enviornmental application for the proposed Ajax Mine have surpassed their goal. The online fundraising campaign ‘Help Stop the Ajax Mine’ had raised more than $26,000 as of Wednesday, June 10. The goal may be met, but John Schleiermacher,...
Local businesses concerned about proposed Ajax Mine
KAMLOOPS – Local businesses are expressing opposition to the proposed Ajax Mine by sending letters to the province listing concerns with the project. So far about 150 local businesses have written letters to Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy, Mines, and Natural Gas, expressing their concerns about the proposed Ajax Mine. The Kamloops Area Preservation Association along...
Ombudsman disagrees with accusation of biased CBC Ajax coverage
KAMLOOPS – A complaint against coverage of the Ajax debate on CBC radio in Kamloops went all the way to the public broadcaster’s highest authority, but ultimately, the complaint was deemed meritless by CBC ombudsman Esther Enkin who says private citizens have the same right to their opinions as do experts. Shelley Joyce, host of...