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◆ MOONLIGHT MADNESS P. 2 ◆ SENIORS FOR SENIORS P. 3
◆ NAK’AZDLI vs. ENBRIDGE P.5 ◆ CANADA GAMES P. 8
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WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2014
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VOL. 37 NO. 42 $1.30 inc. GST
NEWS BRIEFS
Soup Wallah in top 10 JESSE COLE Caledonia Courier
Of the three Fort St. James businesses nominated for the Small Business B.C. Awards one has made it through the finals. The Soup Wallah, nominated for the Premier’s People’s Choice award has made it through to the finals, beating out it’s competition of Bare Hands Landscaping and Design and MXV Integrated Health and fitness. Voting for nominees ended on Nov. 30. Businessees chosen to be part of the top 10 semi-finalists will now complete another, extended application for the awards which will serve to narrow down the top 10 finalists into top ive finalists. Those businesses that are chosen to remain in the top five position will be announced on Jan. 30. After which judging for the winning businesses will begin. The awards will be given out on Feb. 26 at the Small Business B.C. Awards Ceremony held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.
Endako Mines in Fraser Lake is slated to suspend operations in the new year as market prices for its main product, Molybdenum, have fallen. Photo via Black Press files.
New year brings loss of jobs REBECCA WATSON Omineca Express
FRASER LAKE – More than 340 families will juggle bills this holiday season after an unexpected suspension of Endako mine. Thomson Creek Metals announced their Endako molybdenum mine in Fraser Lake will be be put on temporary suspension as of Dec. 31 due to continued weakness of the Moly market. With it will came the termination of half their salaried employees (42) and a 60-day notice to all hourly employees who will be paid through Feb. 7. Currently 347 people are employed at the mine, of that 84 are salaried and 263 are hourly, all of which will feel the negative effects of the layoff. “It’s bad because its half our workforce,” Dwayne Lindstrom said, mayor of Fraser Lake. “You knock three-or-four hundred people out of a town of 1100, it’s pretty devastating.” Total severance benefits for the terminated salaried employees are expected to total approximately $1.7 million (about $42,000 per person), of which 75 per cent will be paid by Thompson Creek Metals and 25 per cent by their partner Sojitz Moly Resources (Sojitz). “This effects the whole region,” said Mr. Lindstrom. “Fraser Lake saw mill and Endako mine are the two biggest employers in Fraser Lake and people from Vanderhoof and Burns Lake work there too. Timing isn’t good no matter when it is but just before the holidays this will ruin a lot of family’s Christmases.” All hourly employees will remain on ‘stand by’ during the suspension period. This will enable us to restart operations fairly quickly once or if a
decision is made to do so, said Pamela Solly, director, investor relations and corporate responsibility for Endako. “We will continue to closely monitor market conditions and re-evaluate the status of the mine as market conditions warrant,” she said in an email interview. “We have longevity in the surrounding communities and will continue to strive to be good partners. We will work hard to keep employees and other stakeholders apprised of the status of the temporary suspension, and will work to place employees at our Mt. Milligan operation whenever possible.” Although all Endako operations will soon be temporarily suspended, monitoring activities and preventative maintenance with continue. “The processing facility needs to be shut down and shut down properly and although production will stop, [unionized salary workers]will continue working up to or close to Feb. 7 to winterize all the machinery, trucks, shovels, and equipment and get it ready for sitting,” Dan Will said, business agent for the local 1-424 United Steelworkers Union in Prince George. Price of Moly is down to $8.775 a pound as of Dec. 11. Endako has not disclosed a price as which the mine would re-start operations but, $12 or $15 would be realistic said Mr. Well. “Over the years it has been quite high but the problem with the cole and steel industry is nobody is making steel right now,” Mr. Well said. “To shut a mine down is an expensive process and I’m sure the decision wasn’t made lightly. [The price of Moly] will go up but the question is when will it go up. I’m sure Idling the mine wasn’t an easy decision for them to make.”
Merry Christmas From everyone at Westline Ford. It was a pleasure helping you with your automotive needs. Please contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to serving you in 2015.!
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TOLL FREE: 1-888-449-4029 250-567-4781 1473 HWY 16 EAST www.westlineford.com DL # 30423
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