Welcome to the Stop Ajax Archive

Updating of this site ceased in mid 2017






Open Letter from Malartic Resident to City Council

 

On March 15, Diane Gagnon, resident of Malartic, Quebec, read an Open Letter to our City Council . Her town has the largest open-pit gold mine next to a city in Canada. The mine has been operating for 5 years and is causing all kinds of problems. Gagnon and 700 residents are bringing a class action suit against the company this spring. She invited members of our Council to visit Malartic to see the effects and to talk with residents. Our Council voted in favour of this plan. To read her Open Letter to our City Council, click here.

 

KGHM AJAX, A Mine Too Close

 

The Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA) is not opposed to any economic activity which conforms with the city's promoted image as a healthy place in which to live, surrounded by a beautiful environment. KAPA is opposed to the location of the proposed KGHM Ajax copper/gold mine.

KAPA is opposed to this massive development for the following reasons, and many more:

  • it will be a huge, noisy, dusty open pit operation within 1.4 kilometres of the nearest  residences, and 2 kilometres from the nearest elementary school. 
  • within six kilometres, downwind and downslope of the perimeter of the proposed Ajax mine are 8 elementary schools, 4 high schools, 4 senior citizen’s residences, one hospital (Royal Inland), and one university (Thompson Rivers). 
  • about 90,000 people could be exposed to the toxic dust (containing arsenic, lead, aluminum and much more) which will inevitably blow over the city. 
  • the use of 15 billion litres of water per year will create haze and fog over the city, and could well increase the water table and land slippage problems at Aberdeen.
  • the devastating impact the mine would have on local ranchers, some of whom have lived here for generations. 
  • the probability of long-term pollution of the Thompson River.

We believe that the long-term economic future of Kamloops does not lie in the development of an open pit mine which, in 23 years, provided copper prices remain high, will close, leaving behind a devastated landscape, a negative impact on airshed quality, a badly damaged tourism industry and ruined ranchers.

This web site contains a great deal of accurate information on this project. Please take the time to read it, and send us your comments. better yet, give us your support.

To find out more or to help support our cause, email: info@stopajaxmine.ca

News Bulletins

June 15, 2017 - SLR Report and Town Hall Meeting

April 5, 2017 - Report from Expert Panel for the Review of Canadian Environmental Assessment Processes

March 30, 2017 - Environmental Assessment Clock is Running Again!

March 27, 2017 - Celebrate the SSN Decision on April 1!

November 15, 2016 - Young Scientists Evaluate Environmental Assessment Process

October 26, 2016 - KGHM Ajax Will Not Pay More For City Review

October 24, 2016 - MiningWatch Predicts $100 Million in Compensation

September 11, 2016 - Expert Panel Coming to Kamloops

August 23, 2016 - Expert Panel to Review Environmental Assessments

July 21, 2016 - Town Hall meeting with Elizabeth May

May 18, 2016 - Soils Scientist warns of dangers to Kamloops from proposed Ajax mine

May 11, 2016 – Predicted Nitrogen Oxide and Dioxide Blast Emissions from Ajax Mine underestimated by 99.9%

April 13, 2016 -- Site C Dam Presentation

April 7, 2016 -- Scale Mine Model in Art Gallery Lobby at TNRD Building

April 7 - Code Blue - Defend Kamloops!

April 3, 2016 – Crowd-funding Consultants Issue Report

March 30, 2016 -- Air-blast and your house

March 15, 2016 - City's Questions to SLR Consulting

March, 2016 - Crowdfunding Update

March 7, 2016 - Five Weeks Left for Public Comments

March 3, 2016 - Goose Lake Road Closure - Comments Requested

February 18, 2016 - Defend Kamloops - Post Your Comments

February 16, 2016 - Ajax Technical Presentations Coming Up

January 26, 2016 - Controversy Surrounds Application Release

January 14, 2016 - Ajax Application to be released January 18, 2016

January 8, 2016 - Tailings plan doesn't heed review

January 7, 2016 - Ajax action needed!

December 21, 2015 - KGHM Ajax must participate in SSN's assessment process

December 19, 2015 - Update on Ajax Application deficiencies

December 15, 2015 - Issues that will NOT be reviewed in the Application

December 7, 2015 - Assessment process January-March, 2016

December 3, 2015 - Write to Ottawa requesting a Panel Review

November 30, 2015 - Government is failing to implement key Mt. Polley Panel recommendation

November 26, 2015 - Ajax Application and Out-of-Scope Issues

November 21, 2015 - KGHM Ajax Application will be released January 4

November 18, 2015 - Urge Council to Ask (again) for a Federal Panel Review

November 12, 2015 - The Federal Election and What it Means for Environmental Assessment in Canada

September 25, 2015 - Town Hall Meeting, September 28

September 22, 2015 - Stk'emlupsemc of the Secwepemc Nation (SSN) file Title Case for Ajax Project

September 14, 2015 - Kamloops Direly News

September 13, 2015 - Ajax Mine Application in Government Hands

September 11, 2015 - First Nations implement own Assessment Process

September 9, 2015 - Rafe Mair's Modest Proposal: Scrap environmental assessments

Aug 21, 2015 - The Problem with (Self-Regulated) Environmental Assessments

Aug 19, 2015 - Town hall meeting will launch City's Ajax review

Aug 5, 2015 - New site for Kamloops air monitoring station

Aug 4, 2015 - The Mount Polley Disaster, One Year Later

Aug 24, 2015 - UPDATE to Indiegogo August

July 25, 2015 - Revised Application Information Requirements Released by EAO

July 23, 2015 - Radio NL Misinformation

June 29, 2015 - Social Impact Assessment Update

June 25, 2015 - Health Canada's Response to Urban Agriculture Concerns

June 18, 2015 - Local First Nations Lay Claim to Jacko Lake and Environs

June 8, 2015 - Business owners send letters of concern to Minister Bennett

May 10, 2015 - Ajax Application Delayed

May 3, 2015 - Bennett has no intention of following recommendations of Mount Polley expert review panel

April 22, 2015 - Letter opposing wet tailings facilities in B.C.

April 22, 2015 - Top 10 copper producing nations

April 12, 2015 - Next steps in the environmental assessment

March 27, 2015 - In Situ Mining - An Aquifer Contamination Threat

March 20, 2015 - EAO Requires Tailings Management Options

February 23, 2015 - Anatomy of an Open-Pit Mine Blast

February 16, 2015 - An Alternative to Open-Pit Mining

February 13, 2015 - BC to Implement All Independent Panel Recommendations Following Mount Polley

February 5, 2015 -- Dry-Stack vs. Wet Tailings

January 12 - Mt. Polley - factors leading to a failure of a geowaste facility

January 8 - City of Kamloops Public Comment Submission

December 5 - Tips & Topics for Public Comment Submissions

December 3 - Interesting Comments in Abacus Sept 2014 Financial Report

November 29 - How to Find the Online Public Comment Form

November 24 - Election results a blow to the pro-Ajax crowd

November 18 - Public Comment Period Nov 18 - Dec 18

September 19 - KAPA lawyers ask for environmental assessment shut down.

September 19 - Doctors say "No more room to pollute"

September 18 - Ajax Protest Outside Coast Kamloops Hotel Continues Inside

September 14 - Public has a right to comment on changes to Ajax plan

September 10 - "You get no say". Protesters oppose Ajax at Downtown Rally

August 29 - What is social licence

August 25 - Ajax dam should be classified an "Extreme" Risk

August 20, 2014 - KAPA reports major deficiencies in environmental process

August 8, 2014 - Terry Lake Agrees to meet with KAPA

August 6, 2014 - Lake Refuses to Meet

July 31, 2014 - Meeting with MLA Tegart

July 30, 2014 - Kerek and Dudy to Run for Council

July 15, 2014 - Council Steps up to the Plate!

June 24, 2014 - Feedback on KGHM-Ajax Open House

Videos

Community Talk on the Proposed Ajax Mine, Part 1 of 4. ( Run time 15 minutes). Dr. R. Schemenauer speaking on air-quality information at a community gathering on the proposed Ajax Mine .

Community Talk on the Proposed Ajax Mine, Part 2 of 4. (Run time 15 minutes). Dr. Calder speaking for Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment Society on health concerns and air-quality information at a community gathering on the proposed Ajax mine .

Community Talk on the Proposed Ajax Mine, Part 3 of 4. (Run time 9:23 minutes). Dr. P. Tsigaris speaking on economic and employment concerns regarding air quality information and the benefits of an alternative path for Kamloops at a community gathering on the proposed Ajax Mine.

Community Talk on the Proposed KGHM Ajax Mine, part 4 of 4 (Run time 11:27 minutes). Tony Brumell speaks about some of the various stages that a mine must deal with during its lifetime at a community gathering on the proposed KGHM Ajax Mine.

BC's Gold Rush-Era Mining Laws have Favoured the Mines. (Run time 5 minutes) The Mineral Tenure Act needs to be revised so that communities adjacent to proposed mines must be consulted before mineral tenure can be granted.

Is This the Future of Kamloops? (Run time --28:48 minutes) With a mine on our doorstep, what would we have to look forward to?

The Ajax Mine and Your Health. (Run Time â 50 minutes) Dr. Brian Moench, is President of "Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment". His medical expertise has been an essential component in the struggle to make Rio Tinto address the serious consequences of the mine pollution it produces. He discusses the medical research regarding air pollution and its effects on the functioning of the human brain, lungs and heart

Physicians Brochure

The Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment has produced a great brochure that covers a lot of potential health risks of this mine, and it includes references as well. Click here to download it and share with your friends.