Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 26/99) - A Deton'cho Corporation proposal to cleanup Giant Mine, is gaining strong local support from the bands represented and now, from organized labour.

Representative from Local 2304 of the Canadian Auto Workers, Steve Peterson, met last week with Yellowknives Dene chief Fred Sangris and Deton'cho Corporation president, Darrell Beaulieu to discuss the intent of the plan.

"We wanted to get an idea of where they were coming from," Peterson said.

He said the proposal designed to undertake reclamation of the mine, indicates that the current workforce could continue to mine gold to offset the reclamation costs.

Peterson said it's a strong proposal because of the balance it tries to strike between dealing with the arsenic and keeping employees on the job.

"Both of our parties don't want to see a government agency dealing with the arsenic because of the chance that something unfortunate could happen," Peterson said.

"At the same time, we're both concerned that if a private sector interest does take over, stringent environmental regulations may not be adhered to because of the nature of trying to maximize the bottom line."

Peterson said the driving force of the proposal centres around taking care of the arsenic while working alongside the idea that the mine can still produce gold.

"The focus is on remediation of the arsenic -- that's what everyone is moving towards -- but along with that there are more than 200 workers pouring gold right now," Peterson said.

"We think we can continue to (pour gold) while this furore about the arsenic is going on. The idea is once a process to deal with the arsenic has been decided on, then the current workforce could be utilized to take over those duties."

Deton'cho President, Darrell Beaulieu, said he was glad to have the opportunity to meet with Giant employees.

"They're just interested in maintaining their jobs," Beaulieu said. "I think the workers are in support of the cleanup because they're aware of the environmental situation there. It's something they want taken care of."

Beaulieu said they recognize that a full reclamation of Giant will take decades and having people on-site that are familiar with the mine is a valued resource.

"The current workforce know the mine, they know where and how the arsenic is stored which is essential information for any clean up project," Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu said if a buyer comes forward, that doesn't change the fact that the mine still needs to be cleaned up. That said, he doesn't see a buyer coming forward soon.

"(A buyer) has to take into consideration the operational costs of the mine as well as gold prices. I just don't know if (Giant) can continue. At this point, it's just a matter of economics," he said.

Yellowknife mayor, Dave Lovell, also gave his support for the Deton'cho reclamation bid.

"It's a legitimate value for money proposal," Lovell said.

"They'll do the job and they'll do it well for about the same cost as a similar southern company. They're committed to doing it right and they'll maximize local benefits," he said.