“We‘ve come a long way from four years ago, when exploration spending in B.C. was only $29 million,“ said Bennett. “The fact is the work of this government has been a major catalyst for the spectacular turnaround in the international mining and investment community‘s interest in British Columbia. This has supported over 4,000 seasonal exploration jobs, and we will need even more trained, skilled workers as the industry continues to grow.“
“Finding qualified employees is a significant challenge for the mineral exploration industrytoday,“ said David Caulfield, president of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC). “But the province‘s stable economy and supportive government policies have helped make B.C. the preferred international destination for exploration investment attracting more workers to the industry.“
“While the northwest has been a hotbed for growth this past year, every area of the province has prospered,“ said Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld. “There were 650 projects underway in B.C. in 2005 — up almost 40 per cent over last year, and that‘s something allBritish Columbians should be proud of.
Regionally, the projects break down as follows:
REGION # of PROJECTS EXPENDITURE
Northeast B.C. 36 $30 million
Central B.C. 122 $30 million
Thompson-Okanagan 140 $36 million
Kootenays 106 $13 million
Southwest B.C. 52 $11 million
Provincewide 3 (incorporated into above figures)
Total 650 $220 million
Bennett and Neufeld released the figures at the British Columbia Institute of Technology‘s Mining Program Facility, where students are trained in everything from basic science to all aspects of mining, exploration and surveying.
The ministry also released several different publications and maps that indicate the phenomenal growth in exploration and investment in B.C.‘s revitalized mining sector. These publications assemblefieldwork results from the B.C. geological survey. They include:
• Exploration and Communities Maps
• Mining Development Projects
• Exploration and Mining Activities
“More geoscience information is being produced around the province,“ said Bennett. “Mining is back in British Columbia, and this new data will lead the way to new opportunities in the north and more family supporting jobs for B.C.‘s regions.”
B.C. MINING QUICK FACTS AND STATS FOR 2005
• Over 650 exploration projects, up 38 percent from 470 in 2004.
• Drilling projects at 235, up 38 per cent from 2004.
• Mineral Tenures acquired 190,000 units, up about 400 per cent from 2004 (largely due to the success of Mineral Titles Online).
• Number of major exploration projects withbudgets in excess of $100,000 was 200, up 19 per cent from 2004.
• Number of exploration projects with budgets in excess of $1 million was 43, up 43 per cent over 2004.
• Total seasonal exploration jobs in 2005 was over 4000, up 48 per cent over 2004.
• Number of new mineral discoveries in 2005 was 28.
• Number of projects under environmental review is 18.
NEW PUBLICATIONS AND MAPS AVAILABLE
New publications available online offer a detailed review of the year in exploration and mining activities in B.C., including:
www.em.gov.bc.ca/DL/GSBPubs/Reviews/2004/EX-REVIEW_IC2006-1.pdf
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/expl_bc/2005/toc.htm
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/Fieldwork/2005/toc.htm
Several new maps include communities where major exploration projects benefit the surrounding regions, and identify more than 100 individual project locations, minerals and metals and the deposit type being explored. These include:
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/OpenFiles/OF2006-7/toc.htm
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/OpenFiles/OF2006-9/toc.htm
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/OpenFiles/OF2006-10/toc.htm
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/OpenFiles/OF2006-4/toc.htm
• Geology of the Upper Iskut River Area, British Columbia http://www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/OpenFiles/OF2006-2/toc.htm
