Yellowknife (Mar 17/04) - Closing Giant Mine during an ultimately fatal labour dispute in the summer of 1992 wasn't an option, the mine's former superintendent testified Monday.

Peggy Witte, Royal Oak's former president, is scheduled to take the stand later this week.

Terry Byberg said it would have cost Royal Oak Ventures -- the mine's owner --nearly $600,000 per month to keep the mine in working order and prevent the maze of underground passageways from filling up with water.

"We couldn't let it flood," he said during Monday's supreme court proceedings. "It would have been too costly to (drain) afterwards."

Byberg was the second witness called by Royal Oak Ventures, one of several defendants in a massive $15 million civil suit, launched Oct. 1, 2003, by the families of nine men who were killed in the explosion at Giant in September 1992.

Former miner Roger Warren was convicted of nine counts of second degree murder three years later in connection with the deaths.

In the civil suit, the plaintiffs allege Royal Oak and the other defendants -- which include the territorial government and a security company -- were negligent in allowing Warren to plant the fatal, homemade bomb 750 m below the ground.

Royal Oak and then president Peggy Witte came under fire for their decision to keep the mine open using replacement workers after miners went on strike in May of 1992.

The following months were among the most violent in Yellowknife's history as miners blockaded entrances to the mine site and vandalized equipment.

On Monday, Byberg testified that even though Royal Oak was determined to keep the mine open, they took security precautions to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.

Private security personnel were brought in to patrol the property after graffiti was discovered underground and explosives were used to blast a hole in a satellite dish in the hills above the mine, he said.

"It was a volatile situation," said Byberg.

During the contentious labour dispute, several parts of the mine were inaccessible because they had been blockaded by striking miners.

Byberg testified that at one point he had to call union leaders to arrange passage through the picket line after a valve had opened allowing cyanide-laced water to leach into the environment.

Eventually, more than 50 security personnel -- and four guard dogs -- were hired to restore order to the mine site and patrol the grounds.

"They were quality," Byberg said of the Pinkerton Security guards.

"You could feel it when they walked in."

Byberg's testimony is expected to wrap up later this week, after which time Witte, Royal Oak's former president, is scheduled to take the stand.