St. Lawrence, a boom-bust N.L. town, endures another hit as fluorspar mine flames out

The woodstove was radiating intense heat in Shane Slaney's shed on Tuesdayas the St. Lawrence resident deftly stepped to the toe line and, with impressive accuracy,smoothly delivered three darts into the board.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Repeat.

At most any other point in his life, Slaney would be happy in this setting.

Butthedowntime enabling him to repair his wood sled on this day and polish his aim for the 20, is unexpected. Unwanted.

That's because Slaney and dozens of others on the Burin Peninsula are recently jobless, victims of last week's idling of the fluorspar mine just over the hill from the community.

After investing hundreds of millions into the operation, Canada Fluorspar Inc.has run out of cash, and the business is now in the hands of a receiver as creditors scramble to restructure the mine, in hopes of avoiding outright bankruptcy and a painful economic blow to the region.

Some 230 workers about 60 of them residents of St. Lawrence, a town of 1,100 were let go last week, leaving just 50 or so with the task of maintaining the site as potential new investors are courted. The shock is being felt in many neighbouring communities as well, with plenty of stories of mine employees, filled with hope for long-term employment right on their doorstep, had recently invested in homes or vehicles.

While the receivershipprocess unfolds around boardroomtables, families connected to the mine are trying to cope, helplessly awaiting the outcome and hoping for the best.

"I depended on it out there," said Slaney, who worked at the mine for nearly five years.

One family. Four pink slips

Some families have been hit especially hard.

Both Slaney and his partner, Paula, worked at the mine, and both were terminated. Slaney'ssister and his father were also laid off.

One family. Four pink slips.

What's more, Shane and Paula have a blended family. Five young children, ranging in age from two to eight.

Shane is also diabetic and, with the loss of his medical insurance, he wonders how he'll be able to afford his medication.

"The coming months are not going to be very easy," said Shane.

Shane and Paula were also planning a wedding for this summerbut have parked those plans for now, while the children wonder why Mom and Dad are home so much.

"We just tell them, 'Don't worry about it. We'll be fine,'" said Shane.

St. Lawrence has endured two other mining shutdowns in his history, and has a dark legacy associated with fluorspar and industrial disease.

But there was renewed hope that a surface mine would restore the town's mining prestige, with worldwide demand for the mineral on the upswing because of its use in products such as lithium batteries and air conditioning units.

Workers marvelled as what appeared to be an unlimited amount of money was poured into the operation. And just before Christmas, employees received a generous pay increase.

But there were whispers of financial problems in recent weeksand, more recently, people were unexpectedly sent home without much of an explanation.

Then last Tuesday, the layoff notices came, along with notification that Grant Thornton, an accounting and advisory firm, had been appointed interim receiver.

And this week, another blow: terminated employees were told there was no money to pay them the 12 weeks' severance in lieu of noticethey were expecting.

So while many are hopeful that the mine will reopen, Shane Slaney is less optimistic.

"I would love for it to so I can go back out there, but to be honest, I I don't see it happening," he said.

Slaney expects he'll be forced once again to join the parade of people from Newfoundland and Labrador who work rotationally in other provinces, spending most of the year away from their families and communities.

"That's really probably the hardest part of it all," he said.

At the St. Lawrence fire hall, volunteerchief Daryl Doyle has more than emergency preparedness on his mind these days. Doyle and five other members of the brigade were among those cut lose in last week's mass layoff.

"We thought we had stable employment," said Doyle. The mine was a big boost for the fire department, he said,because having more members working locally meant more people available to respond to emergencies.

If the mine is shuttered permanently, he expects to lose firefighters as more people look elsewhere for work, whichwould degrade the service to residents.

"We can't sit around idle, so people are going to be looking for jobs," said Doyle.

After enduring so many ups and downs over the years,residents seem toughened by the roller-coaster cycle.

"We've been knocked down a lot of times, and it always seems like our character; we always straightens up and goes about our business," said Doyle.

At the town council's public meeting on Tuesday, meanwhile, the mine's future was item No. 1 on the agenda.

Town leaders have been pressing for answers, nervously hopeful about a positive outcome, but Mayor Kevin Pittmanis prepared for the worst.

"Hopefully there's a glimmer of hope, but right now we're not banking on it," he said.

As for Shane Slaney,there'll be some serious belt-tightening in his household, and more than a few anxious days ahead.

But he's not ready to panic.

"[We'll] take it one day at a time. Just adjust accordingly," he said.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador