Adanac to hold Atlin meeting on mining project changes

Representatives from Adanac Molybdenum Corp. are holding a public meeting Wednesday night in Atlin, B.C., to explain sudden changes in the company's plans to its proposed mine in northern British Columbia.

Last week, Adanac halted construction work at the open-pit site, located 24 kilometres northeast of Atlin at Ruby Creek, B.C., in light of financial uncertainty.

Around the same time, the federal government announced that the company would require a full environmental review, in addition to the review already done by the British Columbia government.

"We're working the responsible agencies to expedite the process, but we haven't got any firm timelines from them yet, either," Adanac president Michael MacLeod told CBC News on Wednesday.

Federal officials said their decision was based on a September 2007 ruling of the Federal Court that effectively shut down Red Chris Development Company Ltd.'s copper mine in northwestern B.C.

That decision came as the result of a court case launched by the group MiningWatch Canada, which argued that environmental effects of the Red Chris project needed more detailed scrutiny from the federal fisheries department.

The newly-ordered federal environmental review can be completed within six months, MacLeod said.

Preliminary construction and ground preparation began last year on Adanac's Ruby Creek site. It was expected to be in full production by the summer of 2009, employing more than 200 people from northern B.C. and the Yukon.

Despite the halt in construction, MacLeod said Adanac continues to conduct exploration drilling for molybdenum at the site. Molybdenum is a rare silver-white metal used to make alloys used in gun barrels, ballistic missiles and nuclear reactors. The companybelieves theremay bemillions of pounds ofmolybdenum at the Atlin property.

Work is also underway to finish environmental reviews and find the $600 million in financing Adanac needs to operate the mine, he added.

"We haven't stopped," MacLeod said. "We are continuing to raise our financing. And once that's in place we are going to be moving forward, no question about it."

In a Jan. 30 interview, Adanac general manager Mike Petrina told CBC News that the latest obstacle may lead to some short-term job losses for up to 80 people working for the on-site contracting company.