Why not let Ajax give families a chance in life?
Editor:
I can’t wait for Kamloops This Week to be delivered — and it is free.
So little is free these days, so thank you.
I love reading and talking about what is in the news. People will have opinions whether we like it or not — banners that offend some people, dogs barking, kids at play, trains going though town or the proposed Ajax mine.
I recently went on a tour of the land where the Ajax mine would be (or where the mine is since 1880, when copper, gold and iron mineralization were discovered).
The mine area has been an active working cattle ranch and is going to stay that way, even if Ajax received approval.
The mine will open, whether we like it or not. Too much money has been spent to stop something that has been there for many years.
People bought property and built houses in Aberdeen with the knowledge there was a mine just beyond the hill.
Some now want to say their property will be worth less and might not get sold, for they did not know about the mine and would not have bought there had they known.
All kinds of excuses are made.
Whose fault is it that some people did not do their homework on the area? They can say the mine was not active at the time they bought, but no mine is ever clear on what the future holds.
As an example, look at Afton/ New Gold Mine.
A mine attracts people like bears to honey. Look at Sudbury, Ont. That town was build around the mine, to name one.
Johannesburg, South Africa is built on a mine and there are open mines all across that part of the country. Mines are the riches of a town or country.
We can make something good of this by making sure the roads leading to the mine are built wider and remain in excellent shape. At the moment, it is an patched-up, insufficient road to travel in sunshine, snow or rain. Make sure sound is controlled and dust control is efficient.
Do talk about things that can be made right.
If the Domtar pulp mill is OK to live with, I am sure the mine will be more than OK to live with. Embrace the fact people/companies are putting money into Kamloops.
This is a blue-collar town, after all, and those living here need to work and grow.
A working town is not paradise. We make our own paradise wherever we are.
I love Kamloops and the surrounding towns. Don’t get me wrong, as I am retired, but the majority of people are working to get where we are and we should give them the same chance we had in getting here.
The existing mine on Ajax property is today covered with natural plants and was seeded after use. That blends it into nature again. The mine was filled as much as possible and made safe.
I am sure that, when the time comes to close the mine again, they will do the same and more to preserve that land.
Go to ajaxmine.ca and take a look with an open mind at what they have to show and tell you.
Be fair in your judgment to all and not only for yourself for wishing to sit on your porch and criticize others who still have to make a living here in beautiful Kamloops.
We have property in Aberdeen and we live a stone’s throw from a working mine.
And, yes, I do sit on my porch and think of young families that have to make a living in this pressure-filled world.
If this mine can give 400-plus families a chance to work there, why would anybody add their name to a list that does not want them to get a chance in life?
Alvida van Zyl
Kamloops
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