Editorial A sad ending for a great mine

Labor unions in British Columbia have notched what they no doubt consider to be another victory. They have stood up to one of Canada’s largest zinc producers and let the world know that they can’t be intimidated. But was it worth it? The final blow came when contract negotiations between Cominco and the union representing workers at the Sullivan mine could not be resolved. The existing contract between the union and Cominco ran out and, as a result, the bonus system that proved so lucrative to the miners — a part of the contract — was also terminated.

Some 1,600 miners are now out of work as a result of the United Steelworkers of America’s stand. And the town of Kimberley will surely suffer as a result of the unemployment.

The company fully expected productivity to drop as a result of workers losing the bonus. In fact, it expected output would decline to about two-thirds of the levels reached while the bonus was in effect, and told the miners as much.

But the United Steelworkers of America was able to do better than that. Its members managed to cut ore production to one-third of previous levels. Development fell to 23%, blast-hole drilling to 39% and, in one memorable result, rock bolting — an essential safety measure for those who work underground — fell to 37%.

The company felt such drastic reductions in productivity were tantamount to a strike. The province’s Industrial Relations Council agreed. But the union defied even that public body. The workers, each of whom was served with a cease and desist order, ignored the IRC’s ruling to end the strike. Productivity did not improve.

The company was left with no alternative but to announce that it would shut down operations at Kimberley. The mighty Sullivan mine, in operation since 1909, had been brought to its knees.

The union and its members had made a stand. They were not going to do the work and let Cominco’s shareholders take the profits. No sir.

They ignored the fact that the Sullivan mine was being transformed into a marginal producer. Silver output, which has always been important to the Sullivan mine, was barely half of its historic level. Ground support costs increased as they inevitably do in older mines. Separation of zinc and lead concentrates was becoming more difficult. And these problems were accelerating while the prices for metals were falling and the value of the Canadian dollar was rising.

In fact, the average cost from January to October of 1989 of producing a ton of concentrate had risen to $263 per ton from an average in 1987 of $171. By December, the cost per ton had reached more than $525.

So the mine has closed. Even though there could be 10 years of reserves still in the ground, those reserves can’t be mined given the current cost of production.

We can’t help but see the mine’s closing as a Pyrrhic victory. The battle was won, but the war was lost, a sad “finis” indeed for one of this country’s great mines.