About The Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA)

Vision Statement

We envisage a vibrant, prosperous, healthy city in which we and our children can grow and thrive, set in a beautiful environment of productive ranches, woodlands, lakes and streams.

Mission Statement

The Kamloops Area Preservation Association purpose is to preserve and encourage the economic, environmental, human health and welfare of present and future generations of people in Kamloops and the surrounding area.

The Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) is a group of people brought together by their concern over the proposal to permit the development of a huge, open pit mine far too close to our large city. KAPA is completely non-political, and its members include local ranchers, physicians, former mine employees, and residents of Knutsford and Kamloops.

We are not opposed to responsible mining, but we are opposed to the location of the proposed Ajax mine, a massive, open pit mine near the edge of Kamloops city limits. The Ajax mine would be located on the high ground overlooking Kamloops and Knutsford, and utilizing crown land and ranch-land up to the southern perimeter of the open-pit for facilities, i.e. waste rock, tailings pond, infrastructure etc.

If the project is approved it would set a Canada-wide precedent, allowing a large mine to move into close proximity of a highly populated city. Ajax mine would be up-wind of the city, less than two kilometers from a residential area, and only 3 kilometers from an elementary school. The proposed mine would pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of residents, both within and outside the city.

The peaceful and productive lifestyle of the residents of Knutsford and ranchers along Goose Lake Road and Lac Le Jeune Road would be shattered. Real estate values of homes located close to the mine would plummet. The impact of noise, ground vibration/air blast (from blasting), air quality, dust and light pollution would irrevocably change the entire character of Kamloops, and particularly of the Aberdeen, Pineview and Sahali areas. The particulate would easily be carried by the prevailing southwest wind over the entire city.

There would be a significant loss of precious grassland including native bunch-grass, the destruction of roads and lakes as recreational corridors and areas, and, inevitably, a negative impact on ground water and Peterson Creek, a source of domestic water and tributary to the Thompson River. There would also be negative impacts to both birds and wildlife.

This web site will provide a great deal of detailed information on the potential impacts of the proposed Ajax mine. There is input from medical specialists concerned about the health effects of the particulate/dust the mine would create. There is input from those concerned with the livelihood of ranchers, and with the loss of so much beautiful recreation area and grassland. There is input from Kamloops residents concerned about the heath and mental well-being of those affected by the mine, and also concerned about the negative impact on real estate values resulting from the presence of a mine so close.

So please, read the information provided and join us in the fight to protect our city and its immediate surroundings from a project that would transform a beautiful landscape into a moonscape.