The company that owns Myra Falls zinc and copper mine near Campbell River says it will be down for at least six months to upgrade aging and unreliable infrastructure and to plan how to access new ore reserves.
But the union representing 280 workers fears the 49-year-old underground mine may not reopen after it suspends operations in 30 days. “I believe that risk of closure is extremely high,” Bill Garton, president of Unifor Local 3019, said Wednesday.
He said the union is ready to work with the company to get the mine running.
About 350 employees work at the mine. Of those about 280 are unionized trades workers and 70 are office staff, supervisors and managers, said Glenn Smith, acting vice-president of mines for Nyrstar in North America.
The mine was acquired by Switzerland-based Nyrstar in 2011.
Up to 90 workers will be retained during the break in operations, Smith said.
Campbell River Mayor Andy Adams met this week with Nyrstar and provincial officials to discuss the suspension of operations, which he understands could last for up to nine months. Other agencies will participate in developing a response plan for laid off workers.
“We have an obligation to reach out and do what we can,” Adams said.
Adams is concerned for mine employees and for the overall economic impact on the community of about 36,000. The mine is located within Strathcona Provincial Park, about 90 kilometres southwest of Campbell River.
Campbell River has weathered industrial quakes before. The sawmill and the pulp mill at Elk Falls closed in 2008 and 2010. But major construction projects are underway in the region, including the $1.1 billion John Hart Generating Station replacement and a new hospital.
In coming months, Nyrstar expects to spend $10 million to $15 million in improvements, Smith said.
New senior managers are being brought in and a new development plan, including new software and a strategy to access the next ore body on the west side of the property, are also in the works, Smith said.
About 500,000 tonnes of polymetallic ore, consisting of zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver, is produced annually, Smith said. It is concentrated in an on-site mill and is then shipped out of Campbell River to smelters elsewhere for further processing.
At this time, the suspension could be for six months or beyond, Smith said. “We’ll just have to see how the completion of our infrastructure progresses.”
The mine has its own hydroelectric system for power, but it is old and unreliable. The company has been unable to hoist ore out of the ground and run the mill at the same time, Smith said.
Along with upgrading that system and other site improvements, such as the tailings disposal facility, the company is looking at lining up a sustainable diesel fuel supply, Smith said.
Restart plans could be affected by the lead time needed to order replacement components and will also be gauged on the progress of developing the next ore body, Smith said.
“Because when we get ready to press the go button again, we need to be in a position that we can be a viable, sustainable operation.”
Smith said the suspension follows a nine-month period where the mine lost $30 million to $40 million, losses that were not driven by commodity prices, but rather issues such as power outages.
Counsellors are being brought in by the company to help workers, Smith said.
Unifor’s Garton said most mine workers are from Campbell River, with about one-quarter from the Comox and Courtenay area and a smaller number from elsewhere.
Various companies that owned the mine have “neglected infrastructure almost completely,” Garton said.
Compounding problems at the site was the main hydroelectric dam going out of service last summer, and a fire on a conveyor belt in the fall, Garton said.
“It’s a big unknown situation. It’s certainly not good for anybody,” he said.
