Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 03/99) - As far as Miramar Mining Corp. is concerned, nothing about Giant mine is certain until a deal is signed.

Miramar Mining Corp. submitted a proposal to receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers to purchase the bankrupt Giant mine. It was accepted, but Miramar senior vice-president of operations, Brian Labadie, says the details have yet to be ironed out.

"Obviously, if no deal is concluded then we wouldn't be putting jobs up at Giant," Labadie said.

"When a deal is signed, we will bring back people in a short timeframe but that's all contingent on concluding a deal. If there's no deal, then someone else can worry about Giant."

He said they are still negotiating on two fronts. The first is to iron out the nuts-and-bolts of actually acquiring the mine with the receivers. The second set of negotiations is with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to determine how Miramar plans to operate the mine.

Labadie said at the same time, Miramar is still waiting for a response from the City of Yellowknife on the company's request for a tax moratorium on the Giant property through 2000/2001.

"It is my understanding that (the city) is still deliberating," Labadie said.

"They are aware of our position. (The tax relief request) is extremely important, and it's not something we put forward lightly."

As it stands now, Labadie says all the parties involved in this deal are working towards a common goal. He hopes the outcome will be a Miramar-operated Giant mine.

"We've certainly laid out the issues we need to resolve to see a deal concluded," Labadie said.

"When decisions are made and people get back to me, then I'll make my decision. At the very least, we'll still have Con mine to deal with so regardless, we'll still have a presence in the North."