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Social investors sought for community aquaculture project
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The Atikokan Fish Co-operative is seeking investors for a unique project to create a fish farm from one of the world’s largest abandoned open pit mines. The Co-op, operating as Snow Lake Fish Farms in Atikokan, ON, is offering Class A preferred shares having a face value of $100 and a cumulative dividend rate equivalent to the prime rate. Minimum investment per individual is 50 shares. The operation, structured as a worker co-op, has developed a fish farm on the lake evolving from the old Steep Rock mining pits, which, until they were closed in the late 1970s, formed the world’s largest open pit mining operation. The operation, located about 200 km west of Thunder Bay, is unique in having developed aquaculture in a lake created by an abandoned open pit mine. The fish farm and its associated processing plant now employ 20 people. The 3,000 sq. ft. processing plant is a certified fish processing facility under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The co-op requires investment capital to develop the potential of this business. From its current position, the co-op requires an additional investment of $110,000 to produce 500,000 pounds in the coming year and one million pounds in 2001. Class A shares in the co-op are RRSP eligible. The co-op has an agreement with Co-op Trust through which an investor can hold shares in a self-directed RRSP. An investor can also transfer funds within his/her existing RRSP to co-op shares or use his or her existing self-directed RRSP to purchase shares. The co-op will be using this investment for working capital. If more than $110,000 is raised, the additional amount will be used to pay down debt. For more information, contact Ontario Worker Co-operative Federation at 519-725-2740.
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