Mining industry withdraws from land-management deal
The Vancouver Sun
Rod Nutt, Sun Business Reporter Vancouver Sun; with Canadian Press The mining industry is pulling out of the British Columbia government's land-use management process, saying it could put as much as half the province off-limits to mineral exploration.
The industry said Friday the government has reneged on its promise to restrict the amount of parkland -- which is off limits to mining -- to 12 per cent of the province.
"We did not oppose the original policy to expand protected areas from six per cent to 12 per cent," Mining Association of B.C. president and CEO Gary Livingstone said. "We were assured at the time of the announcement that 12 per cent was the limit, the maximum."
Livingstone said it now appears the government has no intention of stopping at 12 per cent and warned the economic consequences will be significant.
"Without access to the land of this province, the mining industry -- the second largest in the province, will die -- along with the jobs and economic activity it creates."
Lindsay Bottomer, president of the 2,000-member B.C. & Yukon Chamber of Mines, said 50 per cent of the province will soon be off limits to mining 225 special management zones, parks, parks study areas and other prohibited areas such as native reserves, military and urban land are included.
The Mining Rights Amendment Act, introduced last spring, was supposed to assure access to all land outside parks and protected areas. It was effectively gutted by an amendment saying the rules would be superseded by "higher-level" management plans, Livingstone said.
The government has also dragged its feet on guidelines for compensating mineral tenure-holders who lose their rights when an area is designated as parkland.
The problems have fuelled the exodus of exploration dollars, Bottomer said.
"The investor says why bother? I'll go elsewhere, Ontario for example, or South America. Name your jurisdiction; almost all are perceived to be more friendly than B.C."
The land-use process was established by former premier Mike Harcourt soon after the New Democrats took power in 1991, with a goal to double existing parkland to 12 per cent.
However, the industry contends the process is flawed and particularly inappropriate for hidden resources such as minerals, whose discovery can never be planned on a regional basis.
The pullout is the latest problem in the embattled mining sector, hit hard by the Asian economic slump and low world prices for coal and metals.
Several of the province's 20 active mines are being kept afloat with government help. The huge Highland Valley Copper mine at Logan Lake, near Kamloops, faces closure in May without government and union concessions and higher copper prices.
Mining employs about 20,000 people and generates $4 billion in revenue, as well as $500 million in taxes, Livingstone said.
Miners have the highest-paying jobs in the province, averaging $75,000 a year, he said. Although prospectors need access to large areas, to date mining has disturbed less than 0.1 per cent of B.C. land, he said.
Spending on exploration, the key to future development, shrank to about $40 million last year from $220 million in 1990, Livingstone said. At least $150 million is needed to sustain the industry, he said. Only seven new mines have opened while 14 have closed since 1990.
Although the 12-per-cent target has been reached, the planning process continues, chamber of mines executive director Bruce McKnight said.
For example, on Oct. 8, 1997, the government announced the creation of the Northern Rockies Wilderness area comprising 1.1 million hectares of protected area surrounded by an additional 3.3 million hectares of special management zone.
The area, which the industry said has a high potential for mineralization, is almost as large as Nova Scotia.
Also, Livingstone said the creation of the Tatshenshini park -- which contained the Windy Craggy copper deposit -- in the early 1990s cost the province and industry billions of dollars in revenues and taxes.
In a statement, Mines Minister Dan Miller urged the industry to reconsider its decision.
"Government has gone to considerable lengths to recognize the industry's need for assured access to as much land as possible," Miller said.
"From the beginning, the industry has expressed concerns about the land and resource-management planning process but a careful look shows that, through process, it is possible to achieve community consensus on many issues.
"If the industry is serious about resolving its concerns, the best possible way is to continue discussions with other major stakeholders."
Miller acknowledged that during the past 12 months there has been little exploration activity in special management zones, although he blamed global market conditions.
"As these conditions turn around, I expect the rate of B.C.'s mineral exploration to increase."
NUGGETS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA'S MINING INDUSTRY:
A measure of significance, from 1997 PricewaterhouseCoopers review, (previous year in brackets):
Revenues: $4 billion gross ($3.9 billion), $2.7 billion net ($2.7 billion), $154 million profit ($208 million)
Spending: $3.7 billion ($3.7 billion)
Return on investment: 8.5 per cent (11.3 per cent)
Employment: 9,400 direct jobs (9,750)
Payments to government: $459 million ($480 million)
Exploration: $41 million ($38 million)
Capital expenditures: $381 million ($411 million).
Canadian Press |
