Fulton Concerned with Postal S aes i ~ oe é M.L.A. Jim Fulton visited Cassiar recently. Fulton who had been on a trip to Atlin with N.D.P. Leader, Mike Harcourt took time out to come to Cassiar. There are tentative plans for Harcourt to visit this area in the near future. A public meeting organized by Betty Cavanagh was held on Monday, May 4th and was fairly well attended. Discussion centered around the current Gun -Bill that Fulton is debating in Ottawa, the possibility of the power lines being extended north and the delays in mail service into Cassiar. Fulton suggested that people in Cassiar who are experiencing delays in mail delivery should keep the envelopes for proof of dates sent and dates received. He is very concerned about this problem and will take issue on it. Fulton also met with Mine Manager, Bill Zemen- chik and USWA Local 6536 President, David Liddle. Editor’s Note: During the past month, the Courier has received Priority Post from Victoria. The first, mailed April 30th was received May 7th (7 days) and a second sent om May 6th was received May 11th (5 days). Priority Post sent May Sth from Calgary was received on May 15th (11 days). A Special Delivery envelope posted April 30th from Calgary was received May 9th in Cassiar (9 days) and an Easter Card sent from Trail, B.C., dated April 4th was received 19 days later on April 23rd. We certainly do not feel that postal service to the north, and Cassiar in particular, is adequate! . WS Provincial Court was held in Cassiar on Thurs- day, April 30th and Friday, May Ist. 1987. Judge Overend presiding. RICHARD BENO, charged with attempted manslaughter following a shooting incident at Good Hope Lake on April 16, 1987 did not enter a plea. He will appear June 24, 1987 to enter-a plea and a trial or preliminary hearing will take place. MICHEL SANTOS entered a plea of guilty to a charge of assault with a weapon. This charge arose following an incident on March 15, 1987 at which time Santos assaulted a juvenile with the handle of a pick axe. Santos was given 18 months probation and 80 hours of community work to be completed by Oct. 31, 1987. He is to have no contact directly or indirectly with the juvenile. STEVE MARADA entered a plea of guilty to a charge of impaired driving and refusing to take a breathalizer test. This was not his first offence, Marada was fined $1200. and his drivers license sus- pended for 6 months. JEFFREY QUOCK appeared for trial on a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The charge arose following a domestic quarrel on Jan. 6, 1987, at Good Hope Lake. Judge Overend handed down a verdict of “not guilty’ because of insufficient evi- dence. PETER CALLBREATH appeared on charges of impaired driving and exceeding .08 on the breath- alizer test. As witnesses were not able to appear on Friday, May 1, 1987, the trial will take place in August. Con’t on Page 12 the Voice of Cassiar Country __JUNE_ 1987 10 cents DIRECTORS VISIT On May 14th, several members of the Board of Directors for Cassiar Mining Company toured the plant and townsite. WINSLOW BENNETT - CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Winslow Bennett, Chairman of the Board since mid-March, has many years experience in the B.C. mining industry. Bennett, a graduate engineer from the Univer- sity of Minnesota, founded Equity Silver at Houston in the early 1970’s and is also Chairman of the Board at Equity. He became interested in Cassiar in the Fall PREM WATSA - DIRECTOR HYDRO = ONE STEP CLOSER Victoria -- New Democrat MLA Larry Guno says there are signs the government may commit itself to developing a new source of power for the northwest part of the province. After Guno raised the matter again in the House, Energy Minister Jack Davis indicated B.C. Hydro’s main grid may be extended to the Stewart area. “Last week the government was non-committal, this week it’s saying there’s a possibility. I’m now asking the minister to take the final step and commit himself to extending the grid,” said Guno (Atlin). Guno says prior to this week the government had said a new power source for the area depended upon the development of the Mount Klappan coal pro- ject. But he adds the ‘grid extension should and may take place regardless of the development. “It’s clear our region of the province deserves the same services as the rest of the province. “We all know the potential our region of the province has. One of the keys to unlocking that poten- tial is to have the same access to power as the rest of the province has. “The Mount Klappan coal project and the expan- sion of the Cassiar mine are only two examples of the kind of development that is possible in this part of the province’” ‘ eNOS ‘ ‘ . : Ae Toe OOD a oe EN En ee of 1986 and in co-operation with Prem Watsa and Roger Lace of Hamblin-Watsa Investment Counseling, a Toronto based company, arranged for a group of Canadian in- stitutional investors to purchase Brinco’s interest in the Cassiar Mining Corporation in February of this year. Watsa and Lace, both graduates of the University of Western Ontario, have many years experience in investment counseling, are Directors of Cassiar Mining Company. Bennett, Watsa and Lace are particularly inter- ested in the development of the McDame undergound orebody. They are awaiting the feasibility study reports regarding estimated ore reserves and production costs. At this time, ore reserves are estimated at a minimum of ten years production, possibly thirty years! Mr. Watsa explained, and Bennett and Lace enthusiastically agreed, that “they are committed to making Cassiar a profitable company”. They feel ‘‘the people side of business is important.” Eligible Cassiar employees would be trained for underground work over a fairly lengthy transition period, and the McDame project could be in operation by 1990. A very important factor in the production costs would be the B.C. Hydro power grid being extended to include this area. This was the first trip to Cassiar for these new Board members. All were impressed with the efficiency of the operation and the cleanliness of the mill and other work areas. The townsite was larger than they had expected, and hopefully, a few years from now, will be bustling with new activity as the McDame Project becomes a reality. os geen tee a idee s, mone os RiP, Re, ie Sib ictdvtnatte endo : ee ROGER LACE - DIRECTOR Cassiar Mining Shows First Quarter Profit On May 6, 1987, Cassiar Mining Corporation announced that the earnings for the first quarter of 1987 were $648,000 compared to a restated loss of $314,000 for the corresponding period in 1986. The improved earnings resulted from increased sales revenue due to higher demand for certain grades of asbestos fibre. Production at Cassiar approximately equalled sales tonnage. Cash flow for the period was affected by the increase in accounts receivable due to higher sales in the first quarter of 1987 as compared to sales in the last quarier of 1986. The receivable balance at December 31, 1986 was $102 million and the amount owing by customers has increased to $15.4 million by March 31, 1987. It is anticipated that the cash generated by sales in the first three months will result in positive cash flow in-the second quarter. Atthe end of February, the company redeemed $8,079,000 of its subsidiary’s preferred shares according to the requirements of the banking agreement. On April 30, 1,638,379 Series II Warrants were exercised, representing 99.5 per cent of the total war- rants outstanding. This subscription to flow through shares will provide $2,457,569 for further underground exploration work and for a detailed feasibility study of the McDame deposit. SS a ee eee