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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold and Silver Juniors, Mid-tiers and Producers -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tyc:> who wrote (60131)	6/27/2008 6:38:15 PM
From: onepath	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78405

Mining outlook bright Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Thursday, 26 June 2008 Mining projects totalling more than $1.5 billion are slated for development in north-central B.C. over the next two or three years and are expected to pay economic dividends for the region in jobs and spending, according to the area chairman of the Canadian Mining Institute. "The money is astounding -- it's good," Greg Rasmussen said Thursday. The three projects, which are all within a 175-kilometre radius of Prince George, were among the featured topics at the Canadian Mining Institute's two-day mining conference at the Coast Inn of the North. The projects -- expansions and upgrades and two existing mines and a new mine -- are the closest to Prince George, considered a supply and service centre in the North for forestry, but more recently also for mining. Thompson Creek Metals Corp. has announced a $374-million upgrade and expansion of its Endako molybdenum mine near Fraser Lake, west of Prince George. Taseko Mines Ltd., has announced an additional $350-million project at its Gibraltar copper mine near Williams Lake, south of Prince George. It has also underwent upgrades totalling more than $100 million. Terrane Metals Corp. is just weeks away from delivering its environmental assessment application for its proposed $917-million gold and copper mine northwest of Prince George. The company hopes to begin construction in the summer of 2009. Rasmussen said the the projects will have a direct economic impact in the region. He noted the while only a handful of people are currently working for Terrane that will grow to hundreds during construction of the mine. If the mine gets off the ground the permanent work force during its 15-year mine life is expected to be 350. During a presentation on the Gibraltar mine, Taseko Mines official George Zervas noted that since 2005 the workforce of 250 has grown to about 400 now and he expected another 100 in the next year. While major pieces of equipment -- the actual milling equipment -- are purchased outside the region, mines to contract local manufacturers for smaller pieces of equipment. Zervas noted that both Farr Fabricating and Linden Fabricating. Prince George businesses which have relied on the forest sector for the bulk of their business are eying the opportunities in the mining sector. Bruce Sutherland, president of WolfTek, noted his Prince George manufacturing firm is doing some work for the Endako mine. He said there is potential for local firms to do more work, but as they are not known for that type of work, they have to find a way to break into the sector. Seizing on opportunities in the mining sector is considered particularly important for firms in the north central B.C. region as the forest sector is in the midst a significant downturn, led by an unprecedented collapse in the U.S. housing market. More than 4,000 workers are off the job in northern B.C. through a combination of mill closures, shift reductions and a fire that destroyed a plywood plant in Prince George, according to a running tally by The Citizen.