A new plane

I am always excited about seeing new aircraft, but in this case it is a bit of a mixed emotion. Canada has purchased 16 new search and rescue aircraft from Airbus.  This is the new C295 and it is a great looking plane, except that it is made in Europe. 

The plane will be replacing two amazing aircraft models ... the DeHavilland Buffalo and the DeHavilland Caribou, a couple of beautiful planes made in Canada back in the 1950s and 1960s. Not only were they made in Canada they were made in Downsview where I lived as a child. I remember going by the aircraft plant almost daily and seeing the new aircraft rolling off the line. The planes were so good they were purchased by air forces around the world, including the United States and Australia. I always had a bit of excitement over the years whenever I saw the Buffalo or Caribou in flight. By the way, this plane No. 501 will be based at RCAF Base Comox.

New gold mine

 I was more than pleased this past week to note that the Cote Lake gold project north of Sudbury is finally moving ahead. I covered this story as long as 10 years ago when other mining companies owned the property and and then again about five years ago when IAMGOLD bought up the land and promised to build a new mine. 

This one will be different. Aside from creating a residential camp in the middle of nowhere (apologies to my Watershed friends) to house the mine workers,  the mine will use new technology. We're talking about massive mining trucks that will have NO DRIVERS.  That's right, they will use proven robotic trucks to haul the ore out of the pit and up to the refinery. 

Another interesting tidbit is that the mine is being built on part of a lake bed. That means the existing Cote Lake is being moved to allow for mining. That's not an entirely new idea but it is indeed an incredible and expensive undertaking. I expect there will be plenty of stories... and good jobs. It will be interesting to see what this project does to the price of land nearby. 

Stay tuned.