New Britannia Mine STAFF Mines Come and Mines Go, but It Isn't Often That One Britannia Standards

THE LAKE-LAND PHOENIX Volume 1, Issue 1 SNOW LAKE, MANITOBA September, 2004 The “NEW” New Britannia Mine STAFF Mines come and mines go, but it isn't often that one Britannia standards. In fact, during the last couple of months, opens up again after it has gone. For certain, it rarely the mine's grade has been running 0.17 - 0.18 oz. of gold per ton happens twice - and likely never happens before the mine of ore. That is almost double the grade that was coming out of officially closes. However, this appears to be what is in store for New Brit' over the past year. the community of Snow Lake's New Britannia Mine. As a result, the mine's 50% owner and operator, Kinross Gold, This week it was officially announced that the New Brit' mine has approved an exploration proposal that will see workers drive a will continue on for the next three years and if everything falls 900 ft. exploration drift just below the mine's 3600 level. As well, into place, it could possibly produce even longer. Kinross have agreed to restart New Brit's main ramp and ore "We have finally mined past a large waste inclusion within the development in the mine's Dick Zone. main orebody, which ran about 300 vertical feet in height," said Once the drift is finished, a drill will be moved in and about New Britannia Mine's General Manager, Mike Kelly early last 15,000 ft. of diamond drilling will be done in order to firm up week. "As a result, we find that we are back into better grade ore. reserves in the new area. "We're confident that it's there for at But there is also this new area; over and above existing ore we least a couple of hundred vertical feet," said the open and knew was there." energetic Kelly. "Which means another 50 to 100 thousand extra Kelly says this new extension of New Brit's Dick Zone has a ounces, possibly a lot more, but we just don't know until we northwest trend, which was not seen before. "We started to get a diamond drill." He added that drilling should wrap up by little sniff of it in the spring," he said. "With the last couple of December and there will be an announcement made on the sills it has lengthened and the grade improved, and then with the results at its conclusion. last sill scheduled to be mined before closure, it really took off for Even though the Kinross approved program calls for another about 400 ft. to the north and appears to continue at depth." three years of operation, depending on the extent of The grade of the ore in this area has been exceptional by New (SEE “NEW” on page 3) Linda Butler - Historian with a cause Canada Day – Snow Lake’s summer celebration Canada Day is Snow Lake’s signature summer event. It is a STAFF Herb Lake, Manitoba was once a prosperous mining town. In STAFF: the 1930s and ‘40’s, it hummed with activity and even though celebration that the community’s young and old look forward it couldn’t be accessed by anything other than boat and a winter road, it to with a sense of anticipation and reflect upon with feelings of was home to between 600 and 700 people. It’s tree lined streets boasted gratification. three or four stores, a dairy, a butcher shop, a restaurant, a barber shop, Compared to last year’s celebration, which was curtailed somewhat by post office, hotel and beer parlor, a blacksmith shop, a school and the weather; Snow Lake’s 2004 Canada Day celebration went off (nearly) churches. However, with the end of the Second World War and the without a hitch. prosperity and technological change that it fostered, the town’s mines The celebration kicks off each year with the Canada Day dance, which wavered and waned before crashing completely. The town came to its is held in the Wilfred T. Lipton Arena on June 30th. This is an event own demise in the late 1950’s. Her streets are mostly rabbit runs now that sees many attendees get decked out in their Canada Day colours and her carefully tended gardens are a tangle of caragana and poplar before donning their dancing shoes. It is also a chance to visit with the trees. This once proud and resourceful community is all but a memory, numerous former Snow Lakers who make the trek back each year for this laid out in the dog-eared photographs owned by the few left who were right of summer. This year’s dance was waylaid a bit, when the band’s once a part of her history. bus ran out of propane at Ponton and they were late arriving. However, Linda Butler is one of the elements of this ghost town’s past, and even this gave people a chance to visit, and when the band finally did arrive though she admits that her memories of Herb Lake are those of a little and set up, their mix of ‘70’s and ‘80’s rock was appreciated by most. girl, she has long been a purveyor of the town’s past and a curator and On July 1st, the Canada Day celebration kicked off with the pancake collector of the many photos that are basically all, of any substance, that breakfast at the Senior’s Center, before the parade got underway around is left of the town. She has been gathering Herb Lake pictures for 11:15 a.m. This year’s procession was marshaled by Rene’ Lamontange decades and says that she has over 1000 of them in one form or another. and Corporal Bob MacKnight of the RCMP. The floats traveled a She relates that over the years she has had a lot of people ask her what number of streets throughout the town – doling out treats – before the she was planning to do with all of these pictures, and up until just lately, parade concluded at the Sunset Bay Beach. she didn’t have an answer for them. Once at the beach, everyone gathered in front of the flagpole. With (SEE BUTLER on page 3) (SEE CANADA DAY on page 4) September, 2004 Page 2 THE LAKE-LAND PHOENIX E D IT O R IA L Lake-Land Phoenix. Who knows how long it will fly for, but I’ll give it my best shot and I’m sure all of the columnists are with me ell, it hasn’t been that long, has it? The June 2004 edition on that. Let’s hope the Snow Lake/New Brit’/Lake-Land Phoenix of The Underground Press was to be the last. True to my turns into an eagle and soars for years to come. word, it was. However, with the revitalization of the New ~**~ Britannia Mine came an extension of their offer to produce a Just to let you all know that the reemergence of this paper is due newspaper using the mine’s paper and copier. We’re back, but primarily to the enormous outpouring of email, phone calls, and not as The Underground Press. in person comments I received after the posting of the last issue This new paper, that will hopefully have all the same columns of The Underground Press. I hadn’t realized that what we were and content that the old one had, is named, as you’ve likely doing here meant so much to so many. I also didn’t realize, until already noted, The Lake-Land Phoenix. Now, before you go off all many of you stated it, that you would miss it as much as I would. half-cocked about the lame name that Jackson came up with for I’m hoping that we can pick up right where we left off with this the paper, let me explain its origin. new paper. Thank you, so much, for your support. Firstly, I’ll deal with the Lake and the Land. Residents of ~**~ Snow Lake have a long history of living off of the lakes and land In talking to Linda Butler (nee Vance) last month, I was of this area. Over the years, we have derived both our pleasure dismayed to hear that one of our best known pioneers, Kathleen and our paycheques from these two aspects of our environment. Rice, is laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Minnedosa, They provide us all with an endless supply of natural beauty and Manitoba. I’m also surprised that this has never come to the wealth and for many, the lakes and this particular patch of land community’s attention before. Miss Rice has, after all, been are the main reason we are here. interred there since her passing in 1964. I think it is quite noble Secondly, the phoenix. As many know, a phoenix is a mythical of Linda to attempt to generate money to pay for a headstone for bird, the only one of its kind. Legend states that it periodically Miss Rice’s grave; however, I’m wondering if we can wait until she burns itself to death and emerges from the ashes as a new sells enough CD’s to make the purchase. As a citizen of Snow phoenix, fresh and beautiful, and ready for another long life. Lake, I’m embarrassed by the fact that we promote Kathleen Hence, to “rise like a phoenix from the ashes” is to overcome a Rice’s name and historical impact on both our town and museum seemingly insurmountable setback.

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