BY CRAIG GILBERT
Local reaction to Falconbridge?s commitment to sinking $413 million to make the Nickel Rim South deposit east of Hanmer a fully operational mine site has been predictably overwhelmingly positive.
The company announced Thursday it will spend $368 million over the next five years to develop the ore deposit with an eye to bring a mine into production there by 2008.
That will cost about $185 million, but projected pre-production revenues brings the net capital cost to the company to $413 million.
Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said the mining industry is in good shape not just in Sudbury, but Ontario and around the world.
?I just hosted the World Mines Ministries Forum and attended the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference which attracted 10,000 prospectors, developers and junior and large mining company representatives,? Bartolucci said Friday morning.
?The mood in the industry is very upbeat. This news is excellent for any community, but also for the industry. Exploration in other provinces is on the downturn and Ontario is leading the way.?
Greater Sudbury Mayor David Courtemanche was also at the prospectors? conference, and was impressed by the mood.
?They are so optimistic about the future of the mining sector, and Sudbury is at the centre of the mining world.
?This is vital to the economy. It?s not just about the mining operation itself, it?s also good news for the supply and resources sector.
?Sudbury has to be the national centre for mining research and innovation. That will allow us to be on the leading edge of research and technology development.
?We will work in the coming months to get that national designation.?
CAW Mine/Mill Local 598 president Rick Grylls said the announcement was good news as well.
Coming off a three-week strike where contracting out for projects such as Nickel Rim was a sticking point in negotiations, the announcement by Falconbridge to proceed full steam ahead on the huge project was something the union has been planning for, said Grylls.
?We knew it was coming eventually,? Grylls said. ?That?s exactly why we took such a hard stance on contracting out during negotiations. This will mean hundreds of jobs.?
Gilles Lebeau is president of Sandvik-Tamrock, a major nickel purchaser and equipment dealer, says the Nickel Rim project was approved relatively quickly ?in this day and age? and it?s great news for everyone in the community.
?It?s great to see projects within the country, and especially right in our backyard are being invested in. There is a lot we can do for Falconbridge.?
Sudbury?s general manager of economic development and planning, Doug Nadorozny, said the project gives hope for mining here and other possible finds in the area.
?We?re seeing advances in technology and exploration where we not only do specific projects create jobs and other benefits but provide hope for other big finds in and around the city,? he said.
?From an economic development perspective, it shows mining will be front and centre here for a good long time.? He added confidence among so many in the community grows rapidly whenever a major project like this comes on board.
?A few years ago, Falconbridge was worried about the life of their operations here in Sudbury, now they are bringing major projects online.
?Researchers and developers will now say ?let?s keep going with this initiative we?re working on.? Twenty years is optimistic when a company is
making a commitment.?
