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Gold/Mining/Energy : ORI Omni Resources, TYG Trumpeter Yukon, AKA Arkona Res. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gramps who wrote (430)	8/8/1999 7:56:00 PM
From: Al Cern	Respond to of 444

Gramps, This is from the Yukon News. Tax payers stuck with tab for BYG mine by John McHutchion News reporter The federal government has been forced to take over the environmental mess at the idled Mt. Nansen gold mine, 60 kilometres west of Carmacks. Northern Affairs stepped in after the receiver, D. Manning & Associates Inc. of Vancouver, dropped the task on July 28. D. Manning apparently gave up on mine-site maintenance after creditors of BYG decided to stop funding the work, said David Sherstone, the regional manager of water resources at DIAND. The main task at the mine site now is to get the treatment plant that handles tailings water back up and running, he said. The plant is supposed to treat the cyanide- and heavy-metal-laced water before it gets released into the watershed. The federal government has already spent about $55,000 on maintenance and security costs since it took over at the mine only a week ago, estimated Sherstone. That figure includes $18,000 for diesel fuel to power generators, $8,000 for propane and $21,000 for new chemicals necessary to run the water-treatment plant. Part of the water treatment work will include ensuring that seepage escaping from the tailings pond into a backup pond gets pumped back where it came from. (Because the dam leaked so significantly, and the stuff leaking out had high levels of metals and cyanide, BYG built a second dam downstream and installed a pump to return the seepage to the main pond.) The new chemicals for the treatment plant were necessary because supplies had run out by the time the receiver quit the mine. "There was basically nothing left on site," said Sherstone. The treatment plant needed restarting to bring down the level of water in the mine's tailings pond. As of July 27, the water was estimated to be only 12 to 15 centimetres from running off into a spillway. "That's our big concern," said Sherstone. The goal now is to get as much water as possible out of the tailings pond before freeze-up. Northern Affairs is trying to reach a point where it won't have to maintain the mine site over the winter, said Sherstone. "In other words, we want to reduce our involvement (and) reduce the costs that the government is incurring to the absolute minimum once winter comes," he said. DIAND wants to remove enough water so the pond can refill without overflowing when the snow starts melting in the spring. "We'd like to get several weeks cushion, so that as things start to melt and fill up the pond, if necessary, we can remobilize and get the treatment plant up and running before we have a problem," said Sherstone. However, it's unclear how much water will have to be drained from the pond. DIAND had someone at the minesite on Tuesday doing a hydrographic survey of the tailings pond to try to answer that question. Sherstone estimated there could be anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 cubic metres of water in the pond. While DIAND has already committed over $50,000 to handling environmental controls at Mt. Nansen, the potential long-term costs could be much more. An independent study done in November, 1998, by a geotechnical engineer found that final abandonment costs for the mine site could run anywhere from $4 million to $8 million. Creditors of BYG are apparently owed $3 million to $4 million, but the federal government could trump all of those claims to cover the abandonment bill. The federal takeover of environmental responsibility at the mine is just the latest twist in a long story. BYG fought running battles with the federal government over its ability to meet standards for effluent released into the watershed. In mid-May, the company, while already in receivership, was found guilty by a territorial judge of violating the Yukon Waters Act. The company was convicted of exceeding the allowable limit of cyanide in its tailings pond between May, 1997, and January, 1998. Meanwhile, the Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation and the Carmacks renewable resource council are awaiting test results on a moose's liver and kidneys sent to Vancouver for analysis. The moose was suspected of drinking from the Mt. Nansen mine's tailings pond. "Because we've had so many reports that moose and caribou are in the tailings pond, what we want to know is if the tailings pond is affecting these animals," said Chris Noble, the director of lands and resources for Little Salmon-Carmacks. The tailings pond is in a traditional hunting area of the First Nation, and Noble said people are questioning the potential health risks from eating an animal taken from the area. The First Nation recently set up a monitoring station near the tailings pond to track the number of moose, caribou and bison that may be watering there. Tests results on the moose liver and kidneys are due back in about three weeks. If the test results indicate elevated levels of heavy metals in the organs, the First Nation could get more organ samples now or wait six months and do the test again.

To: Gramps who wrote (430)	10/5/1999 1:25:00 PM
From: Al Cern	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 444

This message is to all OMNI shareholders. It is most likely that the 6 million shares that TYG holds will be used to try and install a new BofD at the annual meeting at the end of October. The board would then be controlled by the same people that led BYG into a very messy bankruptcy. Some of the people were also responsible for the pillaging of TYG's treasury. Furthermore, they have not taken the minimal steps to ensure that TYG's listing remains intact. TYG is now suspended from trading. If you do not want these people to take over OMNI you must contact your broker, and take the necessary steps to vote in favour of present management, by proxy. If you need further information you can contact the co. at 888-331-2233. Sincerely, Al Cern