Special Features - N2K - July 2014

JULY 2014 • VOL. 1, ISSUE 4

PELLET POWER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Pinnacle Boss

Leroy Reitsma

Mining Data Even the bad news turns out to be good news

Fly Smithers Airport expansion key to town’s industrial diversification

Spirit of Home Delta Spirit anchors up as Kitimat project heats up

Global Contender Stewart World Port determined to be up-and-running by 2016

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Oil Boss Rentals Inc. Oil Boss Rentals general manager Gerry Casorso is no stranger to the industry that drives the Northwest.

Gerry was born in Terrace, spent much of his youth visiting grandparents in Cedarvale and graduated in a small community whose economy was driven by mining and logging.

Like many who spent time growing up in the region, Gerry has seen his friends and the younger generation having to move away from the homes they know and love to provide a steady income and stability for their family.

His business may be headquartered in Alberta, but Gerry’s heart has never left B.C. Oil Boss Rentals trucks can be found driving Highway 16 as the company hosts annual chartered fishing trips for employees in Prince Rupert every spring.

With the future looking brighter than ever for the people of the region, Gerry is proud to have the opportunity to be part of the pending development through Oil Boss Rentals.

The company offers everything industry needs to succeed, including rental and pre-owned sales of trailers, lifts, excavators, compressors, generators, heaters, cell phone repeaters and more.

Gerry Casorso and family.

Publisher Todd Hamilton Editor-in-Chief Shaun Thomas Prince Rupert Ed Evans, Sales Lisa Thomas, Sales Quinn Bender, Reporter Martina Perry, Reporter Terrace Rod Link, Editor Brian Lindenbach, Sales Bert Husband, Sales Erin Bowker, Sales Kitimat Louisa Genzale, Sales Cameron Orr, Editor Smithers Grant Harris, Sales Nick Briere, Sales Ryan Jensen, Editor Houston Mary-Anne Ruiter, Sales Jackie Lieuwen, Reporter Burns Lake Laura Blackwell, Sales Steven Maisey, Editor Fort St. James/ Vanderhoof Pam Berger, Sales Anne Stevens, Reporter N2K CONTACT INFO:

Vanderhoof Fort St. James Burns Lake Houston Smithers Terrace Kitimat Prince Rupert

• • • • • • • •

250-567-9258 250-567-9258 250-692-7526 250-845-2890 250-847-3266 250-638-7283 250-632-6144 250-624-8088

N2K is a Black Press publication mailed or delivered by carrier to 33,500 homes and businesses throughout Northwest B.C. Our Head Office is located at 737 Fraser Street, Prince Rupert, B.C., V8J 1R1 250-624-8088 Fax: 250-624-8085

T

he further N2K digs into Northwest B.C. industry, the more we are amazed and heartened by a new corporate culture.

Similarly, we continue to be pleasantly surprised by the everincreasing levels of engagement and the spirit of cooperation between both home-grown industries and those investing in Northwest B.C. and those who live, work and play in our region.

Already, as this issue hits more than 33,000 mailboxes of homes and businesses from Vanderhoof in the east, Haida Gwaii in the west, Dease Lake in the north, to Kitimat, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Smithers, Houston, Fraser Lake and Fort St. James in the middle and south, we are working on our fifth issue.

As mentioned previously, the positive feedback from industry insiders across Canada and readers from Northwest B.C. has been nothing less than overwhelming.

Unfortunately, in the past, often the stories of social and economic benefits of industry, the new technologies, the corporate responsibility and the true outlook have been drowned out by the loudest person behind a megaphone.

Our mission is to balance that equation.

In just the past four months, we have uncovered a vast number of unreported success stories and accounts of innovative industrial practices that not only benefit the economy, but also the environment.

In this issue alone, there is Pinnacle’s carbon-busting pellet, Rio Tinto Alcan’s temporary workers solution aboard the Delta Spirit, a Houston fence post-maker using waste wood and then taking his leftovers and selling that to Pinnacle to complete the cycle.

These are but a few of the examples of how industry in Northwest B.C. is being not only responsible, but innovative. And we’re going to tell you about many more as we go along.

We hope you enjoy this issue of N2K. Todd Hamilton N2K Publisher publisher@thenorthernview.com

Out-of-area subscriptions now available e-mail: circulation@thenorthernview.com View our e-version for free at: www.thenorthernview.com/eeditions

Volume 1 • Issue 4

July 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

PELLET BOSS Pinnacle Energy’s Leroy Reitsma 6

WORLD PORT Stewart expansion on target 10

FLY SMITHERS Airport expands to meet demand 12

CAMP LIFE Babine Nation, Summit join up 14

NEW SPIRIT Former cruise ship docks in Kitimat 16

WATER POWER Port Edward eyes future 19

WASTE NOT Houston fence post solution

COMING TOGETHER KVI meeting training needs 23

GOOD NEWS Minerals North’s optimistic view 26

DAY BREAKERS Egg supplier hatching plans 28

SMITHERS-TELKWA 2016 Minerals North winners 27

GOLDEN MAN Harraway upsets AB dominance 30

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Leroy

Reitsma Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group president & COO

The power of the pellet

By Shaun Thomas

W

hat started as a small family-run business in Quesnel in the late 1980s is now helping revive the northwest forest industry while cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions across the globe.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group was started by Rob and Jim Swaan in 1989, producing wood pellets that were used to heat homes and for pet products such as horse bedding and kitty litter. Fast-forward 25 years and the company now boasts six mills across the province and a $42-million state-of-the-art export terminal on the Prince Rupert waterfront.

It’s a true industry success story for northern B.C., one that has implications for generations to come.

Going green around the globe Pinnacle’s aggressive decade-long expansion began in 2004 with the commencement of operations at a second mill in Williams Lake, something that was driven by a fundamental shift thousands of miles and an entire continent away.

“What caused that development to take place was the fact that there was the emergence of an export market in Europe for product for industrial use. It was no longer just a home heating-based business, it was turning into an industry-based business,” explained Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group president and chief operating officer Leroy Reitsma.

See Page 7

“When you look at wood pellets, we are considered carbon neutral.”

- Leroy Reitsma As more and more people throughout the world became aware of greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere, bioenergy sources such as the wood pellets produced by Pinnacle became in higher demand.

“There is a desire, both in Korea and Japan, as well as various European markets, to move away from coalbased generation of electricity and move toward wood pellets. And it’s not just carbon offsets, it’s also the fact that a lot of the utilities that were built to consume coal are older facilities and they don’t have the most modern air emission treatment systems. By converting from coal to wood pellets, they are able to avoid the cost of having to modernize the emission capture systems because our product burns so much cleaner than coal,” said Reitsma, noting that every tonne of coal avoided prevents two tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released.

“When you look at wood pellets, we’re considered carbon neutral because there is a short cycle in which that carbon is managed. As the trees grow they capture the carbon and when the trees are consumed as a fuel that carbon is released and captured again as plants grow.”

The result of the increase in demand for clean energy has seen phenomenal growth for Pinnacle Renewable Energy. Prior to the opening of the Williams Lake mill, the company shipped 60,000 tonnes of product — this year that figure is expected to be closer to 1.2 million tonnes driven by a diversifying customer base.

“We have probably about 85 to 90 per cent of our product going to Europe and about 10 to 15 per cent going to Asia and one to two per cent being domestic sales for home heating,” said Reitsma.

“What I see happening is, as the market develops in Korea and Japan, I would see that shifting to be more of a 60/40 slit between Asia and Europe with 60 per cent still going to Europe.”

As well as reducing carbon emissions, Reitsma notes the production of pellets doesn’t require any further deforestation than already exists.

“What is interesting about what we’re doing is we’re

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group’s new Westview Terminal in Prince Rupert. actually taking material that would have otherwise been burned, because of it being a byproduct of the sawmills, or would have been left to decay, which is the case with the mountain pine beetle forest,” he said.

“We’re actually taking carbon that would have been released into the atmosphere and we’re turning it into a product where that energy value can be harvested and offset the consumption of coal directly.”

Going green in the Northwest Pinnacle is no stranger to the region west of Vanderhoof. The company’s second mill outside of Quesnel began operation in Houston in 2006, a partnership with Canfor and the Moricetown Band, while the mill in Burns Lake began operating in February 2011. The result is the creation of 100 direct jobs along the Highway 16 corridor and numerous indirect jobs related to transportation and various services.

While the Mountain Pine Beetle played a significant role in the opening of the Burns Lake mill, Reitsma said another aspect of expansion was to improve air quality in the north.

See Page 8

7

Leroy Reitsma, left, breaks ground at the construction of Pinnacle’s new site near Burns Lake with then-Minister of Forests and Range, Pat Bell and Chief Robert Charlie from the Burns Lake Band.

“There is a lot of satisfaction in being able to see that we have had a positive impact on air quality in a lot of communities by shutting down beehive burners.”

“The remainder of our growth, and to some extent Burns Lake as well, was driven by the need to eliminate beehive burners that were associated with sawmills.

That has had a major positive impact on air quality for many communities that no longer have beehive burners working. I can count a dozen direct shutdowns as a result of our company,” he said.

“There is a lot of satisfaction in being able to see that we have had a positive impact on air quality in a lot of communities by shutting down beehive burners.”

The company’s Westview Terminal export facility in Prince Rupert began operations in late 2013, reducing the amount of train travel needed to get the pellets to market.

That reduction in train travel poses multiple benefits to northwest operations.

“It’s a big part of the sustainability of the business, not only from a transportation perspective but also the carbon equation of getting the product to market. By reducing the rail miles, we’re reducing the amount of carbon that is expended to get the product to market, which is an important feature of the product itself,” he said.

“The other aspect of it is that, with the development of Westview, we are now able to load larger vessels. We haven’t started to bring them in yet, they will likely start coming in next year, but we are transitioning from about 45,000 tonne vessels to about 60,000 tonne vessels. That

8

economy of scale is also going to help both the carbon equation and the cost equation of shipping the product.”

A part of the community With three operations underway in the Northwest, Reitsma said it is important to him that the company and the community have a strong relationship.

“We want to be a welcome participant and be able to generate value for the community, be it through jobs or sourcing of materials in the community. We also want to contribute to the community in terms of communitybased initiatives ... we want to make donations to various organizations, especially focused on activities for kids and activities that affect employees,” he said.

“Beyond that, we want to be very careful about how we conduct our business so it doesn’t have a negative impact on people’s quality of life. When we talk of our plant locations, a lot of that has to do with how we manage air emissions ... in Prince Rupert specifically, we have done a lot of things in the design of the terminal to mitigate noise concerns. In response to concerns about the noise that was coming from the upper level of the terminal, we spent about $200,000 on noise enclosures that sought to reduce that noise.”

See Page 9

Minister of International Trade Teresa Wat presented Pinnacle Renewable Resources CEO Rob McCurdy and COO Leroy Reitsma with the Premier’s Award for Job Creation and the Exporter of the Year Award at the 2013 BC Export Awards.

Growing for the future With demand for clean energy on the rise, the growth of Pinnacle Renewable Resources shows no signs of stopping.

Last December, the company announced a partnership with Coast Tsimshian Resources that will lead to the creation of a pellet producing mill in Terrace.

“We could see that we created some efficiencies for Burns Lake, Houston and on the ocean transport side, but the big aspect of Westview is our strategy of wanting to provide a home for the material that was formerly turned into pulp at a combination of Eurocan and Skeena Cellulose and really make it possible for forestry to reemerge in that corridor between Terrace and Hazelton.

It’s still in the development phase, but it is in the near future that we will be trying to advance that project,” said Reitsma.

“I love being able to bring about new developments and create new jobs for people and to open up new opportunities for other businesses by our presence. I think that will be a big part of what we do in that corridor because it will allow a lot of other things to take place.”

While the company has only operated within British Columbia, that exclusivity could soon be a thing of the past.

“We have plans to expand either within the Pacific Rim if there is continued growth in the Asia market and, if we see there is a growing commitment within Canada to reduce our carbon footprint as a nation, I can see us doing some additional expansion through some of the prairie

“It’s really about being able to realize a vision of being part of trying to create a value chain associated with what was formerly a waste.”

- Leroy Reitsma

provinces as well.”

Whatever the future holds for Pinnacle Renewable Resources, Reitsma said he enjoys working for a company that is working to improve air quality for people across the globe.

“It’s really about being able to realize a vision of being a part of trying to create a value chain associated with what was formerly a waste and being able to work with some great people throughout the world on an initiative that seeks to do something about the climate change question that we’re all going to become very aware of as time progresses,” he said.

“At the end of the day it feels good to have been a part of establishing a supply chain that is having a very real impact on carbon emissions for many of our customers.”

9

Global Contender

By Quinn Bender

T

he District of Stewart made it their mission to secure a stable flow of revenue for a region typically dependant on seasonal

work.

For the District, it didn’t require much imagination to look west, to the 114-kilometre deep-water Portland Canal that gives the otherwise inland town of 500 direct access to the Pacific Ocean. Since they found a partner in the private sector, a veteran builder of 60 years, Arctic Construction CEO Ted Pickell, they haven’t looked back.

By March of last year, the dream for what is now the Stewart World Port went from conception to construction with a clear line to completion in January 2016.

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“We could end up doing a million tonnes a year.”

- Brad Moffat “Everything’s on schedule — we’re in Phase 2,” said Stewart World Port’s chief development officer Brad Moffat.

“We have pilings for the wharf purchased and will start driving them as planned. Ted [Pickell] has a history of bringing in projects like this to challenging areas so quite frankly, although it sounds trite, we haven’t run into any real snags.”

The Port of Stewart is currently known for monthly shipments of ore concentrates and raw logs, handled through a private company, Stewart Bulk Terminals. But when complete, the World Port will enable Stewart to offer all manner of shipping services with its diversified roll-on roll-off facility, barge access, a break bulk terminal and, of course, a deep sea dock. It will be Canada’s most northern ice-free port with the ability to reach Asian markets one day ahead of its southern counterparts.

The deep-sea wharf will be complete in January 2015, followed one year later by the break-bulk and bulk facilities, along with all the material handling systems. It’s

a massive, $200-million undertaking destined for rapid success due to its reach deep into one of Canada’s most mineral rich regions.

“We’re in an enviable position, for sure, right in the middle of the Golden Triangle,” Moffat said. “[Mines in all stages of development and exploration] all show Stewart in their technical reports as their port of export. But there simply isn’t the capacity to do that today, so that’s exactly why we’re in town. There will be tremendous benefit.”

For the District, it means an enhanced revenue stream, expanded employment and the attraction of new businesses.

“Any boost to employment in our little community is a welcome thing,” District of Stewart CAO Maureen Tarrant said.

“People are excited about having work here year round because in the winter we have a rather high unemployment rate. In a lot of cases, the husbands go elsewhere to work, whether in camps or even overseas. I think a lot of them would love to stay in the community on a fulltime basis and be home with their families every night.”

It’s not yet clear how many full-time jobs the World Port will eventually offer, nor how soon they’ll come available once construction is complete. Moffat said that depends on a number of factors, but added, “We’ll have all manner of work at the port facility. There are some monster mines out there — we could end up doing a million tonnes a year.”

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A

bold redesign of the Smithers Regional Airport terminal will be the first element of an ambitious expansion plan aimed at securing the town’s future as a Northwest transportation hub.

The need was first outlined in a 2009 report, which estimated the next 15 years could see passenger rates nearly double to 155,000 people annually, in addition to the extra 2,000 to 6,000 aircraft needed to carry them.

The dramatic hike relies on the continued growth of the mining, oil and natural gas sectors, as well as tourism, particularly the massive development plan for the Hudson’s Bay Mountain Resort overlooking the town.

Smithers gave the runway a $5.5 million extension in 2008 to accommodate small to mid-size jets, such as a Boeing 737, in anticipation of this demand. However, because the terminal itself has a capacity of handling only 100 people per hour, more needed to be done and it

“It’s not just about expanding for future passengers, but for the ones we have now.”

- Rob Blackburn needed to be done now.

“It’s not just about expanding for future passengers, but expanding for the ones we have now,” said airport manager Rob Blackburn.

“There are only 54 seats in the holding room, so if you have any flight delays you end up in a position where it’s very uncomfortable for a lot of people.”

Phase One of the expansion is a $4-million renovation of the terminal itself, specifically aimed at improving the traveller’s experience.

See Page 13

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“The airport is a strong economic driver for the community.

We want to make sure it continues to be that.”

- Rob Blackburn An architect has already laid out the floor plans to accommodate peak-hour traffic by expanding the holding room and screening area. Eventually, new additions will extend the length of the terminal both to the north and south.

The entire expansion is still contingent on grant funding, but as the money becomes available tenders will be immediately issued for work to begin as phases of construction are rolled out likely over the course of 10 years. In the end, the report’s recommendations for Smithers’ airport call for more runway aprons to accommodate better flow of incoming and outgoing aircraft, increased ability to assist with low-visibility landings, a cargo warehouse, more short- and long-term parking facilities and a dedicated water supply.

These are significant infrastructure upgrades, but as with any airport all eyes will be on the terminal itself.

It is a town’s first impression on a visitor. It signifies a community’s ambition and its character—a powerful tool to influence repeat tourism and enthusiasm for business.

In the interest of aesthetic excellence, world renowned First Nation artist Roy Henry Vickers is serving as a consultant with the design team to maximize an appropriate theme for the new terminal.

“Basically what we’re doing is trying to bring the outside inside and the inside outside. We live in such a picturesque place, so we’re working with [Vickers] to fulfill those attributes. Our surroundings is who we are — it’s what northern B.C. is. We’re very proud of that so when people step of the plane for the first time we want them to see that too,” said Blackburn.

“The airport is a strong economic driver for the community. We want to make sure it continues to be that.”

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SUMMIT CAMP

By Ryan Jensen

S

mithers-based Summit Camps and the Lake Babine Nation have signed a joint-venture partnership agreement to provide services on the First Nations’ traditional territories.

At the end of May, Summit Camps and the Tzah Tez Tlee Development Corporation of Fort Babine announced the formation of Babine Summit Camp Services Ltd.

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The joint venture will provide turn-key camp and catering services on the First Nations’ territories.

The partnership is a way for the Lake Babine Nation to benefit from the resource extraction work that is going on all over their territory, said councillor and Tzah Tez Tlee Development Corporation director Fred William.

“For decades we have watched industry extract resources all around us with very few or no benefits to our local communities,” he said.

“Through our partnership with Summit Camps we are starting to realize direct community benefits from industry projects on our traditional territories and are excited to expand into the future.”

Summit Camps president Dean Allen said the partnership has a number of benefits for the company.

While he hopes it is a profitable venture, Allen said their main goal is to form alliances that stay long into the future.

“With all of the proposed LNG development in

the Northwest, there’s a real potential for economic opportunity,” Allen said, adding many of Summit’s camps are done in partnership with First Nations’ groups.

“Our goal, in all the economic development and partnerships we do, is to have it be sustainable and long term so that when projects come and go we have a basis from which to build future economic opportunities. It’s not just a flash in a pan.”

Summit Camps will also provide employment skills training and revenue and profit sharing, said director of community relations and business development Andrea Kosalko.

“We’re local so we get it. We know the lay of the land, we know the First Nations and a lot of the challenges that are out there,” Kosalko said.

“Camps come and go. Communities don’t. Communities stay forever. Our goal is to look at how to make a project sustainable which includes the legacy we’re leaving.”

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Rio Tinto Alcan general manager of B.C. operations Gaby Poirier.

Haisla hereditary chief Sam Robinson blesses the vessel.

Former cruise ship Delta Spirit moors up in Kitimat

By Shaun Thomas

I

n a world focused on the future and filled with technology, sometimes it is best to turn to the past for answers.

With a camp nearing capacity and more than 400 workers yet to arrive, that is just what the partners in the Kitimat Modernization Project did. Much like the initial construction of the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter 60 years ago when the Delta King sternwheeler was moored in Kitimat, the answer to their problem was to be found not on the readily-available land at the head of the Douglas Channel but on the Douglas Channel itself.

The answer was the Delta Spirit Lodge, a cruise ship docked at the former Eurocan dock that will house 450 workers and directly employ up to 70 people. It features 10 decks with over 500,000 square feet of space, a galley with a

16

staff of 20 that will serve 800 meals per day during the week and another 1,000 meals per day during the weekends, a 24-hour fitness centre with a dedicated fitness instructor and a panorama deck with pool table and dart boards for worker enjoyment.

Although the vessel offers many amenities, perhaps the biggest advantage is what little long-term impact its presence will have on the community.

“The floating lodge is unique in that you can bring the vessel in, find instant accommodations and during that time it can work just as any other accommodation solution. Then, at the end of the term of the contract or construction phase, the vessel can float away and there is minimal impact to the environment. The client will also be much happier because, really, the entire vessel is there and

then it’s gone and you don’t have to worry about it,” said Bridgemans Services president Brian Grange.

“This decision to bring a ship to Kitimat to help us take care of our own accommodations means a lot. It is a very responsible thing to do and I think it was a very responsible decision,” added Rio Tinto Alcan general manager of B.C. Operations Gaby Poirier.

The arrival of the Delta Spirit Lodge, which travelled over 10,000 nautical miles over the course of 45 days before arriving in Kitimat, is a partnership between Bridgemans Services, Rio Tinto Alcan, Betchel and the Haisla Nation.

Many may look at the vessel as simple accommodations, but Haisla Chief Ellis Ross said he sees it as much more than that.

“What we see this ship as is a symbol of the inclusion

“We see this ship as ... a symbol of inclusion.”

- Chief Ellis Ross that we want to see in Haisla territory. For too long we have been standing on the sidelines watching; watching people get rich and get the jobs. Every morning when we wake up and look across the channel, this is going to symbolize what we really want to see happen in Haisla territory,” he said.

17

450 workers will be accommodated on board.

Up to 1,000 meals per day will be served by galley staff.

“This is a very bold, courageous initiative to find a solution to a problem ...

- Ellis Ross “This is a very bold, courageous initiative to find a solution to a problem that we see in terms of this project.”

The arrival of the Delta Spirit Lodge may be the first time a ship has provided workforce lodging in the Northwest in over six decades, but it may not be the last.

“We have had initial conversations with other developments in the area. Bringing floating accommodations to coastal regions of British Columbia has made a number of projects potentially rethink their requirements,” said Grange.

The Delta Spirit Lodge was formally opened on April 17 with a blessing from Haisla hereditary chief Sam Robinson. Much like the Delta King and the Delta Spirit Lodge, the ribbon cutting brought together the past and the present: Grange and Ross were given one pair of scissors while Robinson and former Delta King resident Joe Feldhoff were given the other.

The exercise room, with flat screen TVs, is open 24/7.

Dam you PORT EDWARD!

By Shaun Thomas

W

here some see aging and unmaintained dams, Tanner Elton sees potential.

The dams at Rainbow Lake, Diana Lake and Kloiya were once used to provide a secure source of water to the Watson Island pulp mill, but haven’t been needed since Skeena Cellulose declared bankruptcy more than a decade ago. Some of the land around the dams was purchased through the tax sale by the District of Port Edward, but when a landslide in 2011 wiped out the penstock linking the water to the

mill, many involved thought the infrastructure was a write-off. But with industry knocking on the North Coast’s door, Elton saw an opportunity to once again put the dams to use. “I went to them and said, ‘Look, I think the water infrastructure could be repurposed for a hydroelectric project and there may be some future use for the water.

We’re prepared to spend some money to figure that out’,� he explained.

See Page 20

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“We will have a small, but viable, hydroelectric project on Diana Lake dam.”

- Tanner Elton “That is how we put together the Port Edward Water and Power Company and we acquired 22 parcels of land from the District of Port Edward, as well as an agreement from them that they would support the development of the infrastructure for three reasons. The first is maintaining the infrastructure for recreation, fish and wildlife purposes, which is not an economic reason but not unimportant, the second was for hydroelectric potential and the third was so that the water would be available for potential industrial purposes as the region develops. We were initially focusing on the hydroelectric.”

The company filed its application for a new water licence in mid-April and is awaiting a list of stakeholders that will be included in the referral process.

“We will be getting a list of people it has been referred to and, at that point, we start to get real. The second we get that list of referrals, we will hold an open house in Rupert. We will invite people to come and go out and proactively talk to all of the communities about this project with the intention that when everything is said and done in about two years, because it will take at least that long, we will have a small but viable

20

hydroelectric project on Diana Lake dam,” he said, noting the company has also committed to upgrading and overseeing the management of Diana Lake Park.

“We think that the region should be interested in this because this is a resource they should want to maintain and keep as part of the potential economic and recreation infrastructure of the region.”

While the project will produce 1.5 to two Megawatts of power, Elton said keeping the area’s lake levels controlled could be key to major industrial development.

“We have started discussions with the city and the region and it is pretty clear that the current systems would get tapped out at some point, particularly if there is a really big user ... the vast amounts of water that are in that system will also be available for potential other water uses. We thought that was way down the road, but it may not be depending on how quickly some of these LNG projects and industrial development moves forward,” he said, noting removal or failure of the Diana Lake dam would lower the water level by 17 metres.

“It is not a huge project, not big employment, but strategically it could be important to the region if the water resources are required at some point in the future.”

Posting it in Houston

By Jackie Lieuwen

O

ne small company has risen to turn wood waste into wealth.

Tompkins Post and Rail employs five people at a small mill just off Morice River Road in Houston, making fence posts and rails.

See Page 22

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“They take out my post wood from the stuff that they were just going to burn.”

- James Tompkins Owner James Tompkins said they ship out 1,000 to 2,000 fence posts per day. Close to 95 per cent of the product goes to Northwest Wood Reserves in Prince George and the rest goes to CanWel Building Materials in Vancouver.

The posts and rails are made from small pine tree tops brought from the bush by Canfor contractors.

“After Canfor takes their log out, they take out my post wood from the stuff that they were just going to burn,” Tompkins said.

The contractors drop off the timber in 17 or 21-foot logs and Tompkins cuts them to length using his processor.

They then run the wood through the peeler to strip off the bark.

Some of the wood is shipped out as rails and some they make into fence posts by sawing on points and capping the top end. The finished posts and rails are loaded onto trucks and shipped out.

The company runs excess wood pieces through the chipper and sells it to the Houston Pellet Plant, Tompkins said.

Tompkins moved back to his hometown six years ago after being prompted by his Houston nephews.

“I thought, well, it’d be easier to start something like this up in Houston rather than down south,” he said.

He started out on his own, running his processor for Bell Brothers and doing posts during break up.

“When I found people to buy my wood, then it became a full time thing,” he said.

22

“It was a bit hectic at first because I was taking the processor out to the bush, then I’d process all the wood, then I’d take my truck there, load it up and bring the wood in here [to the pole yard]. Then I’d peel it, but it was hard to keep employees because they’d have to wait until I hauled the wood in to run the peeler.”

Tompkins said it took him five years to figure out how to get the wood and where to sell it. He said the main challenges in the business was getting timber from the bush and finding buyers. Processing and making the posts was easy for Tompkins, as he was a partner in a post mill in Beaverdale for five years.

When he signed a contract with Canfor in 2013, the company expanded and changed a lot, allowing him to hire his crew and ship more posts out. Earlier this year, Tompkins moved from a leased site to a new site of his own and upgraded all of his equipment.

Nadina Community Futures was a big help for him in relocating his business, he said.

“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be where I am today.”

Tompkins said he plans to upgrade and build a new bucking mill this year, which won’t expand his business but will make things run smoother. He won’t need the processor to cut the wood to length and he will connect the chipper to the mill so the excess wood runs through automatically.

Tompkins said the best part of the business is, “it’s mine” — he is his own boss.

Coming Together

By Cameron Orr

I

ts motto is “Where Education, Industry and Culture Come Together”.

And since 2006 when the Kitimat Valley Institute, as it’s now known, first emerged it has held strong to that vision. The Kitimat Valley Institute, perched on high ground overlooking Alexander and Kingfisher Avenue, came from a partnership of the Haisla Nation Council and Rio Tinto Alcan.

The vestiges of KVI’s time as a primary school are long gone. Its halls are filled with adults seeking careers in industry and its gymnasium is an interactive exhibit of objects, and dangers, you might find on a work site at places like the Kitimat Modernization Project.

It’s a bustling place, growing busier each month.

Jodie Cook, who handles KVI’s business development and marketing, said the institute’s pool of instructors has grown immensely in just the past few years. When she

“The reality was our kids were not graduating with an academic Grade 12.”

- Brent Robinson began work at KVI there were two part-time instructors, today there are nine full time ones and that’s not including the list of off-site instructors.

“We have an extensive group of external instructors that have some kind of specialization or qualification,” she said, noting they bring them in as clients require.

Right now KVI has three main clients: Bechtel, the primary contractor for the Kitimat Modernization Project, Rio Tinto Alcan and the Haisla Nation.

See Page 24

A proposed liquefied natural gas facility located on Lelu Island within the District of Port Edward.

Pacific NorthWest LNG would generate significant benefits for northwest British Columbia and the rest of the province.

Visit www.PacificNorthWestLNG.com to learn more about the project and follow our progress.

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“We’re starting to hear from them already [about] when they’re operational what will their needs be.”

- Jodie Cook Those three clients can equal up to three orientations per day through KVI, in addition to KVI’s own curriculum that includes security training and camp attendant courses.

Brent Robinson , the current secretary to the board for the Kitamaat Valley Education Society, which oversees KVI’s operation, said getting KVI to the place it is today took some time. It first came on his radar before 2006 when the former Alexander School was called the Mcnabb Morris Centre.

“The focus of that building was the power engineers that Eurocan needed, mainly,” he said.

Robinson was part of the initial group that pushed for a job readiness class, which would notably have helped Haisla students prepare for a career in an industry.

“The reality was our kids were not graduating with an academic Grade 12,” he said.

“Long story short, that seed became the job readiness course that was very successful.”

Among the early members of KVI’s board is Colleen Nyce, who is the manager of corporate affairs and community relations at Rio Tinto Alcan. She describes how KVI became a “tremendous asset” for RTA since its

24

formation.

“Rio Tinto Alcan had a lot of training going on up there at that time,” said Nyce of the time KVI was still the McNabb Morris Centre.

“And [McNabb] approached us. About that same time we were actively working towards a legacy agreement with the Haisla Nation and were interested in helping them build their capacity.”

McNabb wanting to sell the school, coupled with that capacity building desire, led to RTA becoming partners to form KVI. “We set it up as a corporation and there were four directors, two from RTA, two from Haisla, and an independent chairperson,” said Nyce.

Although the school was set up as a corporation at first, it was later converted to a non-profit society in order to potentially benefit from government grants.

Nyce doesn’t believe any possible grants did materialize in the end, but KVI is run sustainably, its programs paying for themselves to continue running. And being a nonprofit, the money merely goes back to growing the school even more.

See Page 25

KVI doesn’t rest on its laurels either, and plans ahead for future training needs. They are planning on a supervisor training course they’ll put on together with the University of British Columbia, said Cook.

“That’s training we’ve partnered with UNBC, which is great that we can do that; extend an arm to those other educational institutes that aren’t in Kitimat, but the people are in Kitimat,” said Cook.

KVI, she said, was also the first to bring security training to the Northwest in 2011. KVI worked with the security companies to figure out the training needs and their first class of nine Haisla people all had job offers before the end of the two week program.

“KVI was the first one to bring that course to the Northwest region and now everybody offers security training,” she said.

Just between their three main clients — the Haisla, RTA and Bechtel — KVI held 220 class sessions in February with 2,042 participants, 284 sessions in March for 4,147 participants and 259 sessions in April, for 3,201 participants.

Looking ahead, KVI will begin planning for the anticipated liquefied natural gas (LNG) economic boom and already have a program advisory committee comprised of key players in the field to figure out what the skills needs will be.

“We’re starting to hear from them already [about], when they’re operational, what will their needs be?” said Cook.

“We know power engineering is going to have to comeback. We already know that.”

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Along with other services through KVI — they have an employment agency, for instance — they’re poised for strong growth to carry them through Kitimat’s boom.

With the wide offering of skills training and with their orientation sessions, it might just be KVI that helps carry Kitimat through the boom.

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Northwest Mining’s

“Surprisingly, the number of jobs in the industry were actually up three per cent over last year ...”

- Bill Bennett

By Todd Hamilton

E

ven the bad news was good.

Despite a drop of about 30 per cent in exploration in 2013 and the temporary shutdown of a number of coal mines, the message delivered at the 2014 Minerals North Conference in Vanderhoof was one of optimism.

In what amounted to a state of the industry address to delegates at the conference, Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, said the opening of three new mines including Thompson Creek’s Mount Milligan northwest of Prince George and Giant Yellow on Banks Island south of Prince Rupert is proof that the tide had turned in mine start-ups. He also added that the Northwest Transmission Line should be up and running this summer to power the $500 million Red Chris Mine, which is also slated to begin operation in June.

Although $474 million was spent in exploration in the

26

province in 2013 and of that $201 million in the Skeena (northwest B.C.) region, which was down approximately 30 per cent from 2012, delegates and presenters at the conference said the number is misleading.

More than $600 million had been spent in 2012 and the 2013 numbers, while down, were still a record.

“We’ve been doing really well in B.C. Both 2012 and 2013 were records for B.C., we need to sustain that ... we need not to rest on our laurels ... we need to figure out ways to make sure that trajectory continues to go up and that we continue to see more exploration investment in B.C. every year,” said Bennett.

“In 2001 ... it was about $30 million.”

Bennett said lower commodity prices were to blame for the drop from 2012’s record levels. Regardless, despite the halt to some coal production due to low prices, the numbers were encouraging.

See Page 27

Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett

“I know the [mining] industry is going through one of the typical tough times or difficult times ... because of commodity prices right now,” he said.

“Surprisingly, the number of jobs in the industry were actually up three per cent over last year because of the new mines ... we also produced and shipped more coal and ore this past year even though prices were down.”

Bennett also added that the dip from 2012 levels were not necessarily a harbinger of things to come.

“Typically, when commodity prices go down, you see, especially after you come out of what you might call a supercycle, you had a bunch of small, new companies get started, you do see a a fair number of [those] companies disappear during the downcycle ... there hasn’t been as many disappear as typically there would be,” he said.

“In fact, just over the last three months or four months, junior companies have been finding funding easier than what they were a year ago ... not to suggest everything is peachy because I know it’s not ... but it is getting better, it is getting stronger.”

Northwest B.C. over the past decade has benefitted from a major increase in mineral exploration and it’s something Bennett said needs to continue.

“The exploration side of the industry is really important.

You can’t have mines unless you have that lonely person out there kickin’ over rocks and finding something that makes it worthwhile to go out and raise some money and put a drill program on and take it from there,” he said.

However, it was Houston’s Huckleberry Mine that took centre stage at the conference.

Bennett used Huckleberry as the classic success story while announcing $3 million in funding for Geoscience B.C. “The Huckleberry Mine is ... a really good example of how Geoscience B.C. benefits all of us, the industry, communities, everyone. They did some work close to the Huckleberry Mine and located something that was worth

Mike Robertson, senior policy advisor for the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, with Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad.

looking at. The company went in and drilled it off and found a very promising deposit. It added 10 years to the life of the mine. That means that several hundred people, a few hundred families ... if you look at indirect jobs, it’s probably more than that, have 10 more years of good employment because of this program,” Bennett said at the close of Day 2 on the conference’s main stage.

“That $3 million of your tax money that we’re putting into Geoscience B.C. is one of the best investments we can make.”

Imperial Metals’ Huckleberry was also singled out by Jeff Kyba, Ministry of Energy and Mines Skeena Region geologist, for its creative solution after a near-crippling bull gear failure.

“Their production had a bit of a hiccup recently with a critical failure with one of their processing pieces, but it was incredible to see the ingenuity where they were able to repair the broken piece for their SAG (semi-autogenous grinding) mill, reverse the polarity for some of their motors so that the stresses were actually on the opposite side of the regular gear that was broken and they’re actually up and running again much sooner than they had originally anticipated,” Kyba said.

“It’s great to see they’re still using and thinking outside of that box even though that mine has been in production for a number of years and looks to stay in production until 2021.”

The three-day conference opened with an announcement by Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation of four economic and community development agreements (ECDA) coming from mineral tax revenues collected by the province from the expansion of the Huckleberry Mine.

The Cheslatta Carrier First Nation, Nee-Tahi-Buhn Band, Skin Tyee Nation and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation all signed onto the revenue sharing agreement.

27

Get Cracking

By Rod d Linkk

P

eter Versteege bends down and picks up still-warm brown eggs from a metal-grate floor, placing them carefully in a container.

“They’re still young. They haven’t been trained yet to lay them inside,” said the operations manager for Daybreak Farms, the region’s only commercial egg producer.

We’re in one of Daybreak’s barns and all around our feet 1,000 chickens scurry back and forth, perhaps not sure of who has joined them.

When trained, the chickens will lay eggs inside a long wooden enclosure that runs down the middle length of the barn. The eggs will fall on a conveyor belt taking them to a sorting area where they will be weighed, graded and packed for shipping.

The barn is one of the more modern ones at Daybreak, which houses 32,400 chickens laying various varieties – white, brown, free-run and Omega 3. The chickens run free within the barn and feed from automatic dispensers.

As time moves on, all of the barns will be modernized, providing more room for chickens to run and providing them with more natural nesting and laying areas.

As many as 30,000 eggs per day are produced at Daybreak, located on the bench area of Terrace. Chances are excellent that if you live in the area from Telkwa to Haida Gwaii, south to Kitimat and north to Dease Lake, you’ve eaten a Daybreak egg.

In addition to marketing under its own brands in stores across the region, Daybreak produces eggs for the ownstore brands of Save On Foods and Overwaitea and Bulkley Valley Wholesale within the Overwaitea Food Group, Loblaw’s through the Real Canadian Wholesale Club and Walmart. And last fall, Daybreak began selling its own brands at Safeway stores.

That makes for a busy production and distribution schedule with Daybreak’s truck constantly on the road, said Versteege.

“For the truck itself, it can carry 10,000 dozen eggs,” he said.

Aside from store sales, Versteege has been busy speaking with the companies either operating work camps now or those setting up camps in anticipation of the region’s potential liquefied natural gas industry.

“These are very large companies with offices in Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton,” he noted.

“A lot of the services are contracted out and there are many people involved. But we’re working our way through it and we keep following up.”

Daybreak Farms is unique in the province and not only because its located in the Northwest, said Versteege.

28

“We are a producer and a vendor. We grade our own eggs and sell our own eggs,” he notes.

“This way we are in control of our own product and we can focus on three aspects, quality, quality, quality ... the very large producers will only produce the eggs and they’re shipped out for grading.”

Those large producers, mostly in the Fraser Valley, account for approximately 90 per cent of B.C.’s production with an operation on Vancouver Island accounting for eight per cent.

“And that leaves us with one or two per cent for our region, for the 70,000 to 75,000 people who live here,” said Versteege.

“In my view that’s the difference, we are a producer, grader and vendor.”

Business is on the rise and Daybreak was recently granted an additional quota of 2,000 chickens by the provincial egg marketing board. That will bring its laying population to 34,200 and, with it, an increase in hours for the farm’s 10 employees.

“We’ll be grading three days a week, up from two,” said Versteege.

As Versteege notes, chickens lay seven days a week and don’t take weekends off.

Daybreak Farms dates back to the early 1960s with current owners Ian and Jeannie Christison of Vancouver Island entering the business in 1991.

Versteege, originally from Holland and who had a career in the merchant marine before embarking in a new career as a software designer, moved to Vancouver Island and set up a nursery and gardening business.

It was there that he met Ian Christison and the offer of a job with Daybreak Farms followed in 2010.

Smithers & Telkwa WIN

By Todd Hamilton

S

Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson and Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach

mithers and Telkwa will co-host the 2016 Minerals North Conference.

The announcement was made at the 2014 conference in Vanderhoof.

Smithers, which hosted the conference in 2004 and 2008, will share the spotlight with Telkwa in two years following the 2015 Minerals North Conference in Mackenzie.

Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach expected the 2016 conference to host between 500 and 700 delegates.

“It’s going to be good for the economy and the community and a whole lot of fun to host,” Bachrach said. “Minerals North is really a chance to showcase the role exploration and mining play in the Bulkley Valley and the region as a whole.”

Highlights of the 2008 Smithers Mineral North Conference called for the construction of the Northwest Transmission Line — now slated to power up this summer — and the anticipated closure of Huckleberry Mine near Houston, which has since had its mine life extended to 2021 after a deposit was located near the site by Geoscience B.C. -with files from Ryan Jensen

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Never too old to “B.C. is poised to take its own place as an industry leader.”

- Matthew Harraway

By Anne Stevens

V

anderhoof ’s Matthew Harraway is the best pipefitting apprentice in Western Canada.

Harraway, a third-year apprentice, currently attending the Piping Industry College of B.C. in Delta, brought gold to the province by winning the 2014 Western Canada Regional UA Canadian Apprenticeship Competition in the Steamfitter/Pipefitter category.

The competition, in Calgary, gave trades apprentices the opportunity to hone their skills and challenge their peers from Western Canada. The win qualified Harraway to compete for the national title in Edmonton with a win pitting him against the U.S. champion for the North American title.

“Kind of like Hockey,” he quips.

Matthew and his instructors agree it is a positive and significant shift for a B.C.-trained apprentice to take the top spot.

“Alberta is known for being home to the best-of-thebest in the pipefitting trades, but B.C. is poised to take its own place as an industry leader,” Harraway said.

As for his success in the competition, he said with unabashed confidence that he “expects to be No. 1 in Canada after the national competition in Edmonton and then No. 1 in North America in Ann Arbour, Michigan.”

Born in Mackenzie, Matthew has called the Vanderhoof area home since 1996.

At 45, “apprentice” may seem an incongruous title as he earned his first journeyman ticket in welding many years ago. He began his pipefitting/steamfitting apprenticeship shortly thereafter. Career opportunities led him on a winding path through the maintenance and construction

30

of pulp mills and drilling rigs. He then moved up into supervisory positions in pulp mill construction and quality management. As a manager, there was never time or an opportunity to return to school.

Although he was steadily advancing professionally, he always regretted not earning his ticket. By this point he had accumulated more than 8,000 applicable practical hours to apply to his apprenticeship and found himself missing the hands-on, creative process.

Attending the Piping Industry College of B.C. has allowed him to take his remaining blocks of classroom time consecutively and he will be able to take the red seal exam next month.

Matthew is a vocal advocate for the trades and their potential for today’s youth. His enthusiasm is infectious.

“I love the fact that there are so many aspects of our daily lives that are affected by trades in general and pipefitting in particular,” he said.

“If you drive by any plant, mill, or almost any industrial site you can see that the piping aspect runs through the entire plant. I love that every day and every project is different, and that you learn so many techniques with tools. The state-of-the-art equipment and technology are amazing. You must bring ingenuity to the table. You work with different materials, pressures and environments. The prospects and possibilities are limitless.”

Matthew credits his fiancé, Vanderhoof physician, Dr. Shannon Douglas, for encouraging him to pursue his true passion and giving him the courage to return to school.

He said he could not have accomplished what he has without her support and that of family, former employers, colleagues, friends and the top-notch instructors and program designers at the college.

Trade connects us.

Colin, Elaine and workers like them are building the Port of Prince Rupert’s Road, Rail, and Utility Corridor. Once the two-year construction project is complete, our gateway will move more cargo to overseas markets. That means jobs and prosperity for people in northern BC. Our terminals may be located in Prince Rupert, but we’re building connections clear across Canada—and the globe. Learn about the value of trade at www.rupertport.com/connections.

Back: (l-r) Sammy Robinson, Hereditary Chief of the Haisla Nation; Joanne Monaghan, Mayor of Kitimat; Hiroyuki Shimizu, Deputy Project Director CFSW LNG Constructors; Alan MacDonald, Social Performance Lead - CFSW LNG Constructors; Wael Awad, HSSE Director - LNG Canada Front: (l-r) Marc Maeseele, LNG Plant Project Manager - LNG Canada; Gregory Coady, Deputy Project Director - CSFW LNG Constructors; Wim Revesloot, Project Director - LNG Canada; Koichi Shirakwa, Project Director - CFSW LNG Constructors and Susannah Pierce, Director - LNG Canada.

LNG Canada welcomes CFSW contractor LNG Canada has formalized commitments to Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), social performance, and to CFSW LNG Constructors as efforts push the proposal forward.

Wim Ravesloot, LNG Canada and Koichi Shirakawa, CFSW LNG Constructors, read out the HSE commitments of LNG Canada before the team signs.

(l-r): Wim Ravesloot, Sammy Robinson, Joanne Monaghan, and Koichi Shirakawa cut the celebratory cake to mark the milestone.

LNG Canada chose their newly renovated information centre, at their site on Ocelot Road, Kitimat, to host the historic event which provides a major milestone to the project which wants to ship liquefied natural gas from Kitimat to markets overseas.

The contract with CFSW covers Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) as well as project execution services, subject to a Final Investment Decision by LNG Canada. CFSW LNG Constructors began FEED activities for the LNG Canada project on June 1, 2014.

Among the many in attendance for the event in Kitimat was Haisla Hereditary Chief Sam Robinson for a blessing, and District of Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan.

The deal was formalized on May 20. CFSW is a joint venture of Chiyoda, Foster Wheeler, SAIPEM and WorleyParsons.

“We are pleased to be working with Chiyoda, Foster Wheeler, SAIPEM and WorleyParsons, a group of companies who together have extensive experience in

the liquefied natural gas industry and Canada,” said Andy Calitz, CEO LNG Canada. “While this is a great step forward, a decision to build the facility is still some time away.”

As for LNG Canada’s social performance commitment, their document outlines the company’s readiness to hire locally for the project. That means both in the project construction and with local business partnerships.

“We will continue to work with the B.C. and Federal governments, First Nations communities in northwest B.C. and other stakeholders to develop a project that is economically viable and, if we take the decision to construct this project, it will be technically advanced, it will meet the high environmental standards expected of us, and it will create tremendous opportunity for the people of B.C. and Canada,” Calitz added.

CFSW LNG Constructors’ project director said the company is honoured to have been chosen.

This space is a collaborative promotional venture by LNG Canada and N2K Editor Cameron Orr

“CFSW LNG Constructors is honoured to have been entrusted with this project,” says Koichi Shirakawa, Project Director of CFSW LNG Constructors. “The four partners remain committed to maintaining harmony between industry, the environment and the people of the Kitimat region and greater British Columbia.

We look forward to working collaboratively with all local First Nations and other stakeholders to create employment opportunities and ensure a safe, responsible, worldclass facility.”

CFSW LNG Constructors will lead the effort of hiring the general contractors who will organize and hire employees and businesses for the construction phase of the LNG Canada project.

While the announcement doesn’t finalize the project in terms of getting the ‘green light’ from the stakeholders, it does move the project forward in a dramatic way and sets the path towards a possible final investment decision.