Mining, mineral plan laid out

Improving infrastructure.
Increasing funding for post-secondary education.
Strengthening elementary and high-school students in the importance of mining to the region.
Those are some of the actions the Omineca Beetle Action Coalition (OBAC) is proposing need to be taken to help get a stronger mining industry in the region.
OBAC released the first of a series of strategy documents on Wednesday at the University of Northern British Columbia. While mining has been seen by many people as the most logical industry to replace jobs lost in the forest industry, vice-chair Don Bassermann says the numbers show how important a role mining could play.
“When we saw that of all the provinces in Canada, B.C. showed the strongest growth in exploration and appraisal expenditure between the years 2003 and 2007, the board felt it was important for OBAC to place a high priority on this sector.”
In 2004, exploration expenditures in the OBAC region, which stretches from Valemount to Terrace, were $15 million, or 11 per cent of the provincial total. In 2007, expenditures were $100 million, or 24 per cent of the provincial total.
The strategy includes seven recommendations and 24 actions which can be taken to meet those recommendations.
The recommendation which has the most actions assigned to it is to “build upon existing expertise to become a centre of excellence for minerals and mining post-secondary education.” Among the actions OBAC sees as necessary to achieve this are ensuring collaboration across programs and post-secondary institutions, increasing funding for post-secondary mining education, putting in place more responsive training and apprenticeship program, and building awareness and increasing the use of programs already in place. Most of these actions are seen as taking place in the mid-term, which the strategy defines as one to five years in the future.
Among the other recommendations in the strategy are having local and First Nations governments work with OBAC to identify regional and local expectations and needs, maintaining and improving regional infrastructure (including the electrification of the Highway 37 corridor), increasing public education and raising awareness of mining sector activities and benefits, and achieving excellence in safe and sustainable mining practice, knowledge and expertise.
While many of the objectives OBAC set out at the beginning of the strategy planning match up well to one of the recommendations, one, to respect cultural and environmental values, does not. OBAC general manager Elizabeth Andersen says these values aren’t being ignored.
“Our understanding is the discussions which come out of the recommendation for local and First Nations government discussions will cover this. They will give expression to local-level expectations for cultural and environmental needs.”
The strategy concludes by calling for the development of an implementation plan for the actions called for. Anderson says that shouldn’t take long –?once it gets started.
“When we can start is the question. There are some legislative things that have to be done before we can go.
“It should only take about a month. We hope to be able to do it over the course of the summer.”