Modern Rossland asserts itself as a tourist city unbeholden to its mining roots, a message made clear by the current city council and opponents to a proposed magnesium mine by West High Yield Resources.
Strong anti-mining rhetoric was delivered in November 2024 under the auspices of the historical Miners’ Union Hall where residents decried the potential impacts of a mine in their back yard, including possible disruption to mountain biking on the Seven Summits Trail.
The irony of hosting an anti-mining event at a building recognized by the Rossland Heritage Commission as “a symbolic icon of the province’s early mining industry” appears fully lost on the attending NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard) who fail to understand that Rossland – whose moniker is the “Golden City” – was and continues to be fully dependant on the sustained economic benefits brought by mining.
While Rossland’s mayor thinks people move to the community for the lifestyle and that developing a mine in the area would conflict with the city’s tourism aspirations, residents must wonder what his thoughts are concerning the fact that most employed people don’t actually work in tourism but are employed either directly or incidentally thanks to mining.
The biggest employers by industry in Rossland are healthcare, followed by education and then professional services.
The reason this mountain paradise can support so many jobs is solely because Teck Resources’ smelter in nearby Trail employs close to 2,000 people, and by extension hundreds, if not thousands of ancillary and support services jobs in the area.
The top earners in Rossland work and live there because of the jobs and benefits brought by mining, including the full-service hospital in the area, not to mention countless other amenities and important infrastructure.
It’s why many suspect Rossland may have more doctors per capita than any other city.
Make no mistake, the smelter is single-handedly responsible for maintaining the local economy and enabling the coveted lifestyle we all enjoy.
Opponents to the proposed magnesium mine near Rossland, which is one of the smallest permittable mines even possible in B.C., need to understand that their city, in addition to Warfield, Trail, Castlegar, Nelson, and every-single-community in the West Kootenay, all +20 of them without exception, owe their foundation to local mines.
Being concerned and having questions about new mines is to be expected.
But if they were built farther away, would opponents find it more acceptable, like the lead and zinc concentrate shipped to the smelter?
When the protest group Save Record Ridge Action Committee states they oppose the proposed mine because it’s “far too close to our homes and communities," there’s no attempt to conceal their unadulterated NIMBYism; not in my back yard but elsewhere is fine.
This kind of dogmatism and anti-economy thinking is going to be Rossland’s ruin.
When it comes to maintaining a thriving community, tourism alone doesn’t cut it, not by a long shot.
In Rossland’s current state, the city can’t even afford to maintain its existing infrastructure.
In fact, it has decided not to put “any significant investment” into the outdoor pool whatsoever, and it looks like the ice rink is on similar shaky ground.
On top of this, Rossland city council decided this week – with no apparent warning or discussion – not to renew the contract for musical theatre company Gold Fever Follies which has performed for 38 years at the Miners' Hall, leaving them without a venue to bring in much-needed tourism dollars, youth employment, city promotion, and much more.
This doesn’t sound like the kind of fiscally responsible city council that should be turning its nose at industry seeking to support the local economy.
Relying on tourism at the cost of regional economic opportunities is not working for Rossland, and the inability of the city to support its amenities is apparent and already impacting residents.
Turning away critical mineral mines with project revenue in the billions doesn’t make sense.
Relying solely on tourism is the last bastion of a dying economy; it’s what cities with no other option turn to and is a race to the bottom when commercial tax revenue is beholden to unfailingly short tourist seasons which swell for only a few weeks a year and depends largely on the weather.
The truth is that the threat to lifestyle is already here.
The cause has nothing to do with mining and everything to do with poor economic development and a complete lack of forward-looking growth in tax revenue that’s needed to protect lifestyle.
NIMBYs want to protect their lifestyle at the cost of growth and development.
Lifestyle doesn’t build and maintain museums, hospitals, schools, ice rinks, and community centres.
Mining built and continues to sustain our communities, and so when a one-in-a-lifetime chances arises to support a new local mine we should be ecstatic.
Warren Mirko is a regulatory and public affairs consultant from Warfield.
