Inside
◆ HOUSE PRICES FSJ - PG 6 ◆ PUZZLE PAGE - PG 12
◆ POLICE BRIEFS - PG 2 ◆ EDITORIAL - PG 4
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WEDNESDAY, July 22, 2015
VOL. 38 NO. 21 $1.30 inc. GST
POLICE BRIEFS
Wilfred Patrick Prince
Man wanted for sexual assault and breaching conditions Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man wanted on several arrest warrants. Wilfred Patrick Prince was arrested and released on conditions and has been charged with sexual assault. Several warrants have been issued for Prince since the beginning of March 2015 and RCMP believe that Prince has breached the conditions of his release. Prince is described as a 26-year-old First Nations male, 168 cm tall and 61 kg in weight with black hair and brown eyes. Prince is also known to go by the first name Pattie and may be residing in the Prince George, Vanderhoof or Fort St. James areas. If you have any information about Wilfred Patrick Prince or his whereabouts you are asked to contact the Prince George Detachment of the RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477.
Michele Taylor photo
Mount Milligan Mine, a conventional truck-shovel open pit mine situated approximately 93 kilometres north of Fort St. James.
From heavy haulers to the mill A look behind the scenes at Mount Milligan Mine MICHELE TAYLOR Caledonia Courier
Mount Milligan Mine, a conventional truck-shovel open pit mine situated approximately 93 kilometres north of Fort St. James is a sight to see in person. The mine has been in its production phase of copper-gold concentrate since September 2013 and the Caledonia Courier had an opportunity to visit the mine which uses a water recycling technique to separate copper and gold from the ore being pulled from the mine. “We float up the copper and gold to separate it from the rest of the ore, that’s then skimmed off the top and we do a dry press to eliminate the water.” said Joanna Miller, Community Relations for Thompson Creek Metals/Mount Milligan Mine. “What
comes out of our mine is not flakes or nuggets or anything like that it’s a powder. It’s about 25 per cent of that is copper and very few ounces per tonne (of gold).” “It’s a bit anti-climactic,” she said. Miller also added, “(Our concentrate) goes into our trucks that take it down to Mackenzie and it’s loaded onto railcars and it goes down to the Port of Vancouver and then over to Asia.” State of the art control room In the control room, operators are watching a wall of monitors which track vehicle movement on one side and processing on the other side. The mine is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tonnes per day over a 22-year mine life and runs 24-hour a day. “They are monitoring exactly
where everyone is moving. We have a pit supervisor and a dam supervisor because we’re always pulling rock for both (the pit and for building the tailings dam) at the same time so they work together with dispatch to make sure everything is happening in the right place,” said Miller. “This is where our mine operations are watching the trucks, the benches in our pit and can tell what the composition of the rock is.” Mike Bryan, control room millside operator, shows how the mill operations are overseen with an array of cameras and monitors which are constantly watched by the two operators. “We have a collector and what it does is coats the copper molecules and makes them hydrophobic so they stick to the bubbles and we introduce air into the bottom of the shaft and
into the cells.” The company doesn’t just boast one of the most state of the art operations control rooms with mill and mine operators side by side for easier communications between procurement groups, it also provides a ‘Ritz Hotel’ type accommodations for its employees. Taking a tour of the mine site, and eating at the dining facilities was almost enough to talk this reporter into taking a stab at working out at Mount Milligan. “Everyone has a private room, they are all ensuite and you have a desk, TV, your own washroom, bed, blackout blinds and they are all soundproof, said Miller of the more than 280 room building that also has a full-service kitchen and dining area where hot breakfasts and dinners are provided.