NEWS Save Our Hospital petition gathers 2,600 signatures
CRIME Okanagan couple fined 40 grand for border bluffs
COMMUNITY Hedley hugelbeet project popular with community
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$1.10 Includes TAX
SPOTLIGHT The Similkameen
Volume 63 Issue 21
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Proudly serving the community since 1948 • www.similkameenspotlight.com
Princeton mining ahead of the game Michaela Garstin editor@similkameenspotlight.com
Princeton’s Copper Mountain Mine is ahead of the provincial government’s plan to boost B.C.’s mining industry by tapping into growing demand in Asian markets. Copper Mountain already exports all of its product to Japan - a country hungry for Canadian copper. “The concentrate goes to Japan for smelting and refining, and then the Japanese sell it,” said Copper Mountain manager Bill Dodds. The mine’s concentrate includes copper, gold and silver. “Strong Asian markets combined with a high price mean a future is bright,” Dodds said. The provincial government announced on May 16 that eight new mines will be created in B.C. and nine existing ones will be expanded by 2015. B.C. has a total of 19 major mines, including five new mines that opened last year in Princeton, Prince George, Kamloops, Barkerville and Dease Lake. If the price of copper stays high, Copper Mountain will run long past its 17-year expected life span, Dodds said. He said there is more demand for copper in Japan than in Canada. Exploration is being done in Copper Mountain Mine to find more sources of copper, gold and silver. “We have diamond drill crews on the site working on exploration to improve the reserve,” Dodds said. Copper Mountain mine produced 14 million pounds of copper in the first quarter of 2012.
See MINING Page14
Weather Watch
Michaela Garstin/Spotlight
GRADUATING - Heather King and Kim Nolin have closets full of donated dresses they are offering to grads who would otherwise not be able to easily afford their own. Story on Page 10.
Business community voices concern Michaela Garstin editor@similkameenspotlight.com
Princeton’s business community gathered on May 15 to discuss the negative affects of scheduled emergency department closures four times a week. “We have 330 employees in a large industrial site, and having
Princeton
emergency medical care in Princeton is important to us,” Copper Mountain Mine manager Bill Dodds told the Spotlight. The mine runs 24 hours a day but employees would have to be transported to another town over an hour away for treatment when the hospital is closed from midnight to 8 a.m. Monday to Thursday.
See HOSPITAL - Page 10
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