SPEC Headlines, Oct. 19, 2003

The huge chimney of the smelter is gone!
A part of Murdochville's history disappears
Gilles Gagné,
 with excerpts from Le Soleil

An important part of the industrial heritage of Murdochville, the huge
chimney of the copper smelter, was blasted to the ground by a specialized
crew, on October 13th, at 7:00AM, 49 years after its construction.

The 156 meter high structure, or 525 feet, took thirteen seconds to go down,
from the first sound of the blast to the huge noise of its contact with the
ground. It took 113 kilograms of explosives and seven days of work to
prepare the blast. The $400,000 operation was planned by Ray and Yanek
Rakowski, from the firm Rakowski Cartage and Wrecking, based in Winnipeg.
The chimney fell right where it was supposed to.

A few dozens Murdochville citizens, mostly former workers of the mine or the
smelter, attended the blast. The copper mine was closed in October 1999, but
smelting operations were conducted until April 2002. The diameter of the
chimney was 11.1 meters at the base, and six meters at the top.


Biomolecular Research - Million Dollar Project
Jeanie LeLacheur

    Over 1.1 million dollars will be granted to an innovative Gaspé based
bimolecular research project, the terms of which were  announced during an
October 10th press conference held at the Gaspé MAPAQ.   Ministre de
l¹Agriculture, des Pecheries et de l¹Alimentation François Gauthier,
Nathalie Normandeau minister delegated to Regional Development and
Tourism/Gaspésie- Iles-de-la-Madeleine, and Michel Ringuet, of the
Université du Québec at Rimouski, were present to unveil the initiative. A
research team consisting of 2 professors/researchers and technicians  from
the University of Quebec at Rimouski, will be installed in Gaspé. The team
will, among other things, create a ³portrait²  of Quebec¹s marine biomass,
and study its characteristics.
The project will  allow an in-depth  study of  mollusks, crustaceans and
other organisms of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and hopes to perfect  the
procedures used in the extraction of biomolecules for their eventual use  in
food, cosmetic and other industrial sectors.  As stated by Nathalie
Normadeau, ³At a time when traditional fishing is undergoing difficulties,
Quebec must look towards innovative technology in an effort to  use to
advantage our marine resources such as biomolecules, especially since
international markets  are high.²   In addition to Government aid to the
venture the University of Quebec at Rimouski will contribute $193,000.


Provigo distribution center may be site of Ontario company
Gabriel Industries would manufacture plastic containers
Gilles Gagné

    MATAPEDIA - A company based in Ontario, Gabriel Industries, has a buying
option on the Provigo distribution centre in Matapedia, closed in March
2002. The prospective owner wants to install a plastic container
manufacturing plant. The company would also like to offer complete services
to subcontractors, including filling up the containers with various
products, and doing the  packaging.
    Gabriel Industries is registered under federal law. The company was
incorporated recently and its head office is located in the Toronto area.
Company officials are currently putting the final touch on the financing of
the project and securing aspects of the feasibility study, which is about to
be undertaken, for an intensive period of eight weeks. The initiative would
require an injection of 30 to 35 million dollars.
    Robert Hubert, Director General of the Centre local de développement of
the Avignon MRC, has been following the file very closely for more than a
year and he rates the venture as "very serious", but he still considers that
there is a lot of work ahead before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.