Fort Simpson (Jun 02/06) - Previous misunderstandings and misinformation has led two mining associations to launch an education campaign in the Deh Cho on early stages of mineral exploration.

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines are working together to send two spokespeople to every community in the Deh Cho.

The Deh Cho is the only region receiving this treatment.

"They would like to make it easier for everyone to work together and get things done," Dave Nickerson, an engineer and one of the presenters, said.

The goal is to create a more receptive atmosphere for people doing mineral exploration, Denise Burlingame, the second presenter, said.

During their presentation in Fort Simpson on May 23, Burlingame and Nickerson walked through the exploration process.

Exploration is a continual process because of increasing needs, Burlingame said. A television set alone contains 35 different minerals. Supplies also become exhausted.

"Diamonds may be forever, but diamond mines aren't," Burlingame told the two people who attended the session.

Exploration starts with activities that have minimal impact on the land and water, Burlingame said.

She listed sampling, airborne geophysics and diamond drilling as the first stages.

There are strict regulations for exploration and most people who do the work have a lot of respect for the land, she said.

There are also no guarantees.

"It's a continuous gamble," Nickerson said.

Nine out of 10 exploration projects don't result in discoveries and less than two per cent of discoveries become mines, he said.

But exploration brings investment and jobs to the North regardless of whether a mine is found, said Burlingame.

Part of the goal for the sessions is also to discover what the mining industry can do to be of benefit to the people living in the area.

Suggestions given in the communities will be taken back to the two associations.

"We drink a lot of coffee and talk to a lot of people," said Burlingame about the campaign.