LETTER TO THE EDITOR — Safety assured at Brunswick division

I am writing in response to the article “Noranda curtails output of zinc at Brunswick mine” (T.N.M., Sept. 9/96) which indicates that the safety of the Brunswick mine has been called into question.

Production shortfalls at the mine [situated near Bathurst, N.B.] are due to a shortage of available broken ore inventory brought on by difficult mining conditions. The difficulty increases as the extraction ratio of the orebody rises and ground stresses increase. Despite changing mining conditions, Brunswick’s safety record has improved as conditions have deteriorated. In 1990, the company’s lost-time injury frequency was 9.6, compared with 1.2 for 1996. We are proud of this tremendous achievement, which is a credit to our employees.

Although it faces challenging mining conditions, Brunswick is committed to running a safe operation, and we believe we have a highly skilled and committed workforce capable of operating the mine safely. There is no reason to question the safety of the operation as indicated by your article.

John Martin

General Manager

Brunswick Mining Division

Noranda Mining & Exploration