The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
TIMMINS – If all goes according to plan, Glencore Copper’s Kidd Mining project could have its life extended by another three years.
City council heard from general manager Tom Semadeni about the mining project at Monday night’s meeting. The mine produces copper, zinc and is rumoured to be one of the largest silver mines in Canada. The Kidd Mine also has the distinction of not only being the deepest mine in Canada but also the deepest base metal mine in the world at more than 9,600 feet.
The mine’s life was originally expected to end in 2018 but that might not be the case. Semadeni said the way to make sure the mine continues until 2021 is by providing opportunities for people and for development.
The plan is to continue to keep a safe work environment, make reliable mining plans and find cost savings. “The only reason why I work there and why everyone works there is to maximize the benefit of that ore body,” he told council. “We want to extend its operational life. That’s important to everyone’s interest. We want to do that safely and cost efficiently. We recognize that it is hard because it is deep. It’s technically challenging and expensive.”
One of the ways that the company is being more efficient is by utilizing unmanned robotic loaders. The machine operates in a vacant area of the mine, which allows operations to continue even though no one is around.
Semadeni said it is the first mine in North America to use this technology.
As the mine approaches closure, Semadeni said they will have to address the issue of how they manage their employees.
The current workforce has 960 full-time permanent employees and 148 contractors. The majority of those employees are between the ages of 51 and 65 years old.
Semadeni said that they are looking at possibly retraining and cross training employees because as the mine approaches closure they won’t need as many employees.
“The good thing is we’re looking at it now,” he said. Many at council praised Semadeni to continuing to give updates on what was happening at the mine.
Coun. Mike Doody said it gives the public an insight into the operations of one of Timmins largest employers. “We have some of the best miners in the world right here,” Doody said.
He asked if it was possible for the mine to dig even deeper but Semadeni said it wouldn’t be worth the cost to do it.
Coun. John Curley asked about other drilling operations, but Semadeni responded by saying they didn’t find anything.
For the original version of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2014/02/10/kidd-mine-life-may-get-three-year-extension