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Rio Tinto Alcan points of interest in Northwestern BC
Saturday, July 25th, 2009 by GetawayBC.com
Kenney Dam – Located 96 kilometres south of Vanderhoof. A great mountain of rock, gravel and clay – as high as St. Paul’s Cathedral and more than double the ground area of the Great Pyramid of Egypt – is one way to describe Kenney Dam which was carefully placed in the Grand Canyon of the Nechako River. The Nechako Dam measures 457 m in width, or longitudinal axis, 356 m along its transverse axis and 99 m in height, with a thickness at its crest of 12 m. The downstream face of the dam falls 99 m – greater than the height of a 32-storey building. The reservoir contains 43 billion m3 of water and covers 927 km2, which is enough to cover Vancouver Island to a depth of 1.2 m.
Stop in at the Vanderhoof Chamber of Commerce for more information.
Skins Lake Spillway Campground – For those of you who enjoy camping and are looking for an out-of-the-way spot. This campground offers 20 campsites, covered cookhouse for picnics, outhouses, cold water taps, boat launch and is free of charge.
To get there head south from Burns Lake on Hwy 35 to the Francois Lake Ferry (24 km), take the 20 minute ferry ride, follow Keefe’s Landing Road once off the ferry and stay right (35.8 km), turn left on Ootsa Hill Road (1.7 km), turn left again on East Ootsa Road (5 km) and the campsite is on the right.
Stop in at the Burns Lake Chamber of Commerce for more information.
Kitimat Smelter – Rio Tinto Alcan’s BC Operations located at Kitimat is one of the largest industrial complexes in British Columbia, covering nearly 500 hectares with a current rated annual capacity of 245,000 tonnes of aluminum.
The smelter is located adjacent to the deepwater port on Douglas Channel, where large ships routinely deliver cargos of the various imported raw materials used to manufacture aluminum. The smelter located at Kitimat contributes over $295 million to the BC economy annually.
The company plans to modernize the smelter with new technology resulting in an increased capacity to 400,000 tonnes of primary metal.
Contact: Rio Tinto Alcan’s Regional Office in
Vanderhoof (250) 567-5105, Prince George (250) 561-1189,
Burns Lake (250) 692-4144 or
contact the Spillway at (250) 694-3532