HUMBOLDT — BHP senior executives and local municipalities met with each other to establish a relationship with each other.
Michael Behiel, Humboldt’s mayor, said the meeting on Sept. 29 with the senior executives was at a higher level and was more about building a working relationship.
“They came through, wanting to see the mine, wanting to see the region that they're going to be dealing with. They wanted to establish lines of communication, to [show] that they are committed to us and the region, and that they will work with us and we will work with them.”
Ragnar Udd, BHP’s President Minerals Americas, said there’s a lot of excitement and that's reciprocated on both sides.
I'm very excited about the investment that we're making in Canada in terms of $7.5 billion into the Jansen mine,” he said. “That's on top of the $4 billion that we've already invested. The feedback coming back was very exciting.”
Udd said the BHP executives heard about some of the opportunities the local communities are thinking about.
“We also wanted to explore a little bit in terms of some of the other things we've seen around the world in terms of jobs, how we’re very committed to balanced workforces and understanding how we actually make sure we've got the education facilities, and other community infrastructure necessary to build that out.”
Behiel said that at the meeting, the city detailed what they’ve done to prepare for the Jansen mine and any influx in population, while BHP said they were concerned about educational needs, as well as making sure there are adequate hospital and medical provisions.
The mayor said representatives of nearby RMs were invited to the meeting, adding that it’s important for local municipalities to take a regional approach to the Jansen mine.
“BHP is not just about the City of Humboldt, it's about the region, and we recognize that. We've already started a process with the RMs and the surrounding communities to meet with them and create sort of a unified approach so that we can identify some of these needs, and determine where they're best situated so that we can all benefit as a region.”
The City of Humboldt has been changing its relationship with its neighbours. As of Jan. 1, 2021, the city is no longer a member of the Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance, a regional alliance of towns, villages and rural municipalities. The city does have a zoning and planning district with the RM of Humboldt. The city said it has been working on other ways to work together with nearby municipalities.
At the meeting, Behiel said that one of the local reeves took him aside and pointed out the need for a common regional approach, something the mayor said he 100 per cent agreed with.
When asked if there was enough regional co-operation to suit BHP’s needs, Udd said there was no doubt in his mind there was.
“I think what we've heard today is that the councillors, the mayor are really excited about what this means for us longer term now that there's a bit more certainty in that investment,” he said.
“We will work together over time to actually develop and build on that commitment to ensure that when the Jansen mine starts up, it's not just BHP that's benefiting from this, it's the entire ecosystem in terms of the communities, the governments, the employees that are actually going to come into this.”
