-Mine area could become public park or endangered species habitat-
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 27, 2007-
By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times
The Lakeview Dividend Mine reclamation project is closer to being finished than originally planned, said the chief supervisor for the engineering project during a tour of the site on Dec. 18.
We're ahead of schedule and under budget, said Bill Steller, senior rockwork engineer for EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.
While the Provincially-funded reclamation, now in its fifth week, was originally scheduled to be completed for the end of March, Steller said it looks like the job may be finished as soon as mid-February.
The Province, through the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, announced this fall that it would be starting a process to reclaim and stabilize the mine, which it considered a major safety hazard. Workers are now filling in the mine with rocks and earth.
Located just west of Osoyoos, the mine was in operation from 1912 to1964. Production was interrupted during the Second World War.
Originally an underground mine, its rocky roof was removed in 1939, creating a large, open pit and revealing a series of tunnels and caverns.
When the mine closed in 1964, the Province had not yet introduced reclamation legislation, so the facility sat abandoned for more than 40 years, becoming a popular party location for some Osoyoos residents.
Steller and Butch Morningstar, executive regional director for the ministry's mining and minerals division, conducted the tour of the site for a small delegation of guests including Osoyoos Museum Curator Gale Cornish, Osoyoos Desert Centre Director Joanne Muirhead and Penticton-Okanagan MLA Bill Barisoff.
We're driving on what used to be a huge hole, Steller said as he drove his jeep across the former site of the mine's main pit. Much of the 40,000 square metres of earth and rock needed to fill the space came from the demolition of the mine's rock pinnacle. Other materials were brought in from excavated construction sites.
Local contractor Bob Knight and a 10-person crew are carrying out the job.
And while the open pit is mostly filled, there is still work to be done. Large rock-breaking machines continued to chip away at what remains of Dividend's rock crown during the tour. Bat-gates “ grate-like devices that allow for the safe passage of bats but keep people out “ will be installed on the mine's remaining entrances.
We're essentially going to have a ventilated bat habitat, Steller said. There are at least two species of bat that make the mine their home
When the work is done, native vegetation will be planted on the site and the service road leading to it. The Province and EBA are hoping to partner with Cornish, Muirhead and the Town of Osoyoos in deciding what should be done with the site.
Cornish said she would like to see a historical plaque and perhaps some benches, creating arnpark-like area with public access where people could come and walk their dogs.
Muirhead said she would be interested in exploring the option of creating a habitat for some of the area's endangered species.
It's sort of six of one and half-dozen of the other, Muirhead said. It would be nice to create habitat for endangered species, but if we're going to have people up here anyway, what's the point.
Alain Cunningham, chief planner for the Town of Osoyoos, missed the tour due to illness and was unavailable for comment last week.
Barisoff said he took the tour to represent the provincial government.
It involves the Province, there's the safety aspect and the fact there's money being spent, he said. Besides, it's always good to have an idea of what's happening.
Barisoff, who also serves as Speaker of the B.C. legislature, said it was good to see that local employment had been created from the project.
It's a win-win situation to make an area that was unusable usable again, he said.
And to have it done by local contractors is always a bonus.
Barisoff added that his office has received no complaints in relation to noise created by the work.
The construction crew will take a two-week holiday until Jan. 6, during which time 24-hour security will continue at the site.
