The first scale model of the proposed Ajax mine and the South Shore of Kamloops is being offered up for showings by the volunteers who built it.

The model, about two metres by one and a half, will be on view at the downtown Farmers Market Saturday and the next two Saturday mornings.

Architect Hazel Mader and Gregg Lindros, two volunteers involved with the model project, said they hope to find a permanent, public home so anyone can view it.

They said Friday they want to emphasize that the model is built on neutral information and that it wasn't created to push an opinion on the mine.

"The whole intent here is this isn't for or against (the mine)," said Lindros. "It's just public information."

KGHM Ajax's attempt at a video 3-D model came under heavy criticism, even from City Hall, and no physical model of the proposal has been available so far.

Mader's model is the first to offer a perspective involving 800 metres of elevations from the Thompson River up to the top of the tailings piles and Sugarloaf Hill.

It shows 16 kilometres, east to west, and 11.2 kilometres north to south.

"We were careful to do all the proper scaling," said Mader.

She used maps from the City's website to show the elevations, and KGHM's information submitted to the province's environmental assessment office to draft the mine pits and piles.

Officials from the City and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District got a look at the model Friday morning. Most of the feedback was positive, although some City staff did question the presence of temporary ore piles, she said.

Mader said she included them because they will be around for most of the life of the mine.

She estimated the value of the time, work and materials that have gone into the model at about $10,000.

"This is 100-per-cent volunteer," said Lindros.

The model will be available for interested groups, whether they're pro or anti mine, in the near future, he said.

myoung@kamloopsnews.ca