Hudbay Minerals Inc., the owner of the proposed Rosemont Copper Mine, is closing down its flagship mining operations in northern Manitoba in 2021, an action that will eliminate 900 jobs and inflict severe economic damage to the community of Flin Flon that has depended on mining for more than 90 years.
“Prospects for our members are bleak,” a joint statement issued by seven Flin Flon unions warned after Hudbay announced its plans to shut down all mining operations in the town of about 5,000 residents.
“Some will have to leave Flin Flon. Members are already looking for jobs elsewhere. If they risk staying past 2021, there will be minimal good paying jobs in Flin Flon. We believe this will devastate the community of Flin Flon and surrounding area, as for every one job we lose, four people are affected,” reads the union statement published in The Reminder, Flin Flon’s weekly newspaper.
Hudbay Manitoba business unit vice president Rob Assabgui released a statement to workers in late November stating that efforts by the company to extend the lifespan of the 777 mine had failed, not only stating the mine would shut down by 2021, but that the Flin Flon mill would be placed under care and maintenance and the zinc plant would “most likely” be shut down, The Reminder reported.
“We have to be honest: after mining for 90 years in the Flin Flon area, we now know that we won’t have an anchor mine to replace 777 and sustain operations in Flin Flon the same way they are today,” Assabgui stated. “Despite a lot of work over the past few years, the most likely scenario is that mining operations will cease in Flin Flon in 2021. As a result, the Flin Flon mill will also cease operations.”
The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Cal Huntley, the mayor of Flin Flon, said that about 300 Hudbay employees are eligible for retirement.
“Obviously, it is very upsetting to the community,” Huntley told the Free Press. “This was one of the scenarios that were discussed over the past several years. So it was not totally unknown, but it is not the option we were hoping for.”
Hudbay has been steadily shifting the focus of its mining operations to lower labor cost areas since 2014 when the company opened the Constancia open-pit mine in southern Peru. The cost to produce a ton of ore in Manitoba runs about $80.80 per ton compared to only about $8.68 per ton in Peru, according to Hudbay’s 3rd Quarter Management Discussion and Analysis report filed with Canadian financial regulators.
Hudbay produced 30,222 tons of copper for the three months ended Sept. 30 from the Constancia Mine. The company produced 26,00o tons of copper concentrate in Flin Flon for the same period.
Hudbay is seeking permits to construct the $1.9 billion Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson. The company needs a Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete the permitting process.
Project opponents have already filed multiple federal lawsuits challenging previous federal decisions in connection with the permitting process.
Hudbay’s mining operations in Flin Flon, Peru, Guatemala, and Arizona were the focus of the 2015 documentary Flin Flon Flim Flam. The film revealed the environmental and cultural impacts of Hudbay’s mines the people and communities where it operates.
MINING IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY . IT SIMPLY TAKES AND GIVES NOTHING BACK . THE WORLD IS LITTERED WITH ABANDONED ” MINING TOWNS ” . THE U.S. IS HOST TO MANY DOCUMENTED CASES . THE FACT THAT FLIN FLON HAS SURVIVED AS A ” MINING TOWN ” FOR 90 YEARS IS QUITE REMARKABLE BUT THE END WAS ALWAYS JUST AROUND THE CORNER . HUDBAY CREATED FLIN FLON BUT THEY DO NOT OWN IT . HOWEVER , IT IS EFFECTIVELY A COMPANY TOWN AND ITS FATE LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE COMPANY . SADLY , WHEN THERE IS NO MORE ORE TO MINE , MINING COMES TO AN END AND THE COMPANY MOVES ON BUT DOES NOT TAKE THE TOWN WITH IT .
THE OREBODIES MINED BY HUDBAY IN THE FLIN FLON AREA ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE LARGE TONNAGE , LOW GRADE DEPOSIT THAT THEY ARE NOW MINING IN SOUTH AMERICA AND THE ROSEMONT COPPER DEPOSIT THAT THEY HOPE TO MINE IN ARIZONA . HUDBAY HAS MOVED FROM SMALL TONNAGE , HIGH-GRADE COPPER/ZINC DEPOSITS TO LARGE TONNAGE , LOW-GRADE COPPER/GOLD? DEPOSITS . EVEN SO , THE ROSEMONT COPPER PROSPECT IS REPORTED TO HAVE A MINE LIFE OF ONLY 19 YEARS AND THEN WHAT ? HUDBAY CLOSES THE MINE AND MOVES ON TO OTHER DEPOSITS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD .
THE CURRENT CONFLICT AND OPPOSITION TO THE THE ROSEMONT PROJECT IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF THE ANTIQUATED U.S. RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE . IN ORDER TO STOP THE ROSEMONT PROJECT FROM MOVING AHEAD , MORE EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO STOP THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND POLITICIANS WHO ARE SUPPORTING THE ROSEMONT PROJECT . THIS IS NO EASY TASK . IT IS TIME FOR ALL OF THE OPPOSITION TO THE ROSEMONT PROJECT TO JOIN FORCES AND UNITE IN ORDER TO PRODUCE THE STRONGEST VOICE POSSIBLE .
THE CRITICISM OF HUDBAY AND THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN FLIN FLON IS THE DIRECT FAULT OF THE CANADIAN FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES . MINING COMPANIES , OPERATING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD , ARE NOTORIOUS FOR FINDING WAYS AND MEANS TO AVOID BEING PENALIZED FOR THEIR ACTIONS AND/OR LACK THEREOF . SINCE FLIN FLON WAS CREATED , THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES HAVE PREVENTED THE CREATION OF ” MINING TOWNS ” IN ORDER TO AVOID ” GHOST TOWNS ” WHEN MINES CLOSE AND/OR ARE SIMPLY ABANDONED . MINING IN REMOTE AREAS IS NOW BASED ON FLY IN , FLY OUT ARRANGEMENTS .
THE OPPOSITION NEEDS TO LOBBY WASHINGTON TO GET SUPPORT FOR ITS CAUSE .