Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 26/02) - Geologist and other rockers are moving into a new home. Tucked in beside an under-construction site where a Yellowknife crane landmark is at work, the CS Lord Northern Geoscience Centre building is just about complete.

"As an entity, it has been in place since 1999," said the centre's manager Bernie MacLean referring to the combination of federal and territorial geoscience experts.

Some workers used to be housed in the Bellanca Building and some were in the Scotia Bank building before the move to a combined workspace. A leased space in Yellowknife's Old Town was home to the previous Geoscience Centre building.

But now 23 employees will come under one brand-new $2 million roof.

"From a service stand point, people will be able to find us more easily," said MacLean.

The federal government is paying for the building and the territorial government is buying the furniture. Construction started last autumn and is being handled by the Rae Band.

The group's job is to give Northwest Territories geoscience information to clients including prospectors, mining and exploration companies. The geoscience centre provides analysis, information and advice to individuals, communities, governments and industry .

"Our staff has for the most part come from either the territorial Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development or the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs," said MacLean, explaining that many employees bring skills and experience from either the mining or petroleum industry.

The move to a central location is going to make it much easier for people who are looking for geoscience information to find answers.

"Most are asking much the same question, 'What does the geology tell us about the economic potential of the area?' Many are prospectors who access our records prior to embarking on their summer field programs," said MacLean.

It's been well documented that every $1 spent in government geoscience will, on average result in $5 in exploration activity and lead to $125 in resources discovered.