The first Mt. Polley community meeting of the new year will be coming up.
Imperial Metals Vice President of Corporate Affairs Steve Robertson says it will probably be a while yet before they hear word on their application to resume normal operations which is currently in the MDRC process and being reviewed by a committee of community and first nation leaders as well as different government agencies.
“It’s probably going to take another two to three months to get fully through the review,” he says.
“It’s a very comprehensive process. There’s a lot of consultation with the community and First Nations and it’s not so much one-way communication; it’s two-way communication.”
Meetings, which will focus on Mt. Polley’s proposed return to full operations, are scheduled to take place as follows:
- Likely Community Hall, Tuesday, Jan. 19 7-9pm
- Williams Lake Gibraltar Room, Wednesday, Jan. 20 7-9pm
- Quesnel Best Western Tower Hotel, Thursday, Jan. 21 7-9pm
Robertson says although Imperial Metals had to curtail operations at their Huckleberry mine 300 kilometers northwest of Prince George, Mt Polley is still proceeding forward at this time.
“We’re very conscious of course of our costs out there, but Mt. Polley has a little bit more flexibility because of the heterogeneity of the deposit,” he says.
“We have more options in terms of how we can adjust the mine plan to accommodate for the lower prices; we can go into areas of higher grade options and make sure we can keep the operation cash positive.”
Approximately 100 of the 260 employees at the mine located near Houston were laid off last week off due to the declining prices.