And sometimes my mind works in mysterious ways.
For instance when I look at the map of the 2,300, 200 foot below the water table open pit limestone mine as proposed by the Baupost Group aka Highland Companies I noticed something.
Take a looky see if you notice it too.
http://www.ndact.com/index.php/images-main/images-maps/70-highland-companies-proposed-quarry-site
What is missing on their proposed map, besides every living creature, tree, bird, house and human being is the municipally owned 3rd line and 4th line of Melancthon between sideroads 15 and 20.
I would like to say the nerve of these idiots just thinking they could buy a muicipally owned asset (meaning WE the taxpayers own it, not council) and then blast if off the face of the earth but clearly they have no limits.
So if even for one moment Council dared risking the revolt that would follow should they sell these roads to anyone, here is some food for thought.
Underneath those municipally owned roads is limestone, worth about $18 million an acre.
Do the math and you will see that there is about 28 acres of municipally owned road in question here.
And at $18 million an acre, that would mean the purchase price would be about $500 millon bucks.
You are welcome.
The map shows the licence limit to be just either side of each line. We (the residents) would just have to keep paying for maintenance of the roads (52% of our municipal tax expenditure with only 9% revenue from industrial use of the roads). Little ribbons of road with 200 foot drop offs (of course, hidden by promised berms) on either side. Effectively, they'd have almost exclusive use of the roads without having to purchase them.
ReplyDeleteDid you also notice on this map that the west side of the Central Operating Area jogs around some of the headwaters of the Pine River? Although the north headwaters is allocated to pit #4. To quote HC's application: "There are no significant natural heritage features within the Proposed Licence Area, with the exception of a very small portion (approximately 2 ha) of a large (approximately 275 ha) potentially significant woodland;”. This exception of course means there IS significant woodland within the licence area. By the way 2 ha = 5 acres, which is equivalent to 4 football fields.
ReplyDeleteThere is no houses left on those roads, so who uses them now?
ReplyDeleteYes, Anonymous. There "is" no houses left on those roads, so we doesn't really cares about dem, douse we? Some of us doesn't care about dose rivers forests neither, because they ain't good for nuthin' and big black holes are pretty anyway, eh? (man, isn't there a grammar course for trolls??)
ReplyDeleteI envision huge tourism for Melancthon. Put a zipelin over the quarry-show everyone what they get for 11 cents per tonne.
ReplyDeleteIf the roads remain in Public hands any buffer strip Setbacks are permanently sterilized ,denying the proponent the opportunity to extract adjacent to the road.
ReplyDeleteMinebuster here: If you take a look at the proposed quarry you will see on the 4th line of Melancthon between 15 and 20 sideroad is in the middle of their blasting and crushing operation. There is not way in hell the MNR will approve a license for Highlands that permits a public road through the middle of that, cars and trucks driving daily with the dust, blasting materials and a 200 foot drop on either side o fthe road? Nope, the road will be part of the deal, and as I pointed out it is worth at LEAST $500 million buckaroos. In the words of Honey Boo Boo, a dolla makes me hollar, but $500 mil? That's alota dollas.
ReplyDelete