Editorial



The lure and danger of mining

Lost in the incessant coverage many media sources have afforded the BHP diamond mine is the growth of the Northern mining industry as a whole.

But some of us have been watching the bigger picture. Rarely does a month pass that Yellowknifer's business editor doesn't come up with a story about some new mining venture in NWT.

BHP, which just this week received the final (and we mean FINAL) approval for its diamond mine at Lac de Gras, has another iron in the Arctic fire, so to speak, in the form of the Boston Gold project near Bathurst Inlet. Meanwhile, the Diavik and Jericho groups, are hoping to follow on BHP's coat-tails with diamond mines of their own.

At least one other gold deposit shows promise near Rankin Inlet and there's a lead-zinc project on the horizon at the old Prairie Creek site near Nahanni National Park Reserve

By early next century, the number of mines in the NWT could have doubled. You can almost hear the Yellowknife business community licking its lips in anticipation. One new mine wouldn't bring a windfall to the city while five or six new ones would.

But some of these mines could easily pose serious threats to the Northern environment. And it's not going to be easy for federal and territorial regulators to handle so many new projects at once.

Easy, no. But necessary.

We simply can't afford to mishandle or discourage potential mineral development. Nor can we let enthusiasm for profit overshadow our care for the what will still be here for our children long after the mines leave -- the land. ( 01/10/97 )


Patience pays off

The recycling business, like any other, has its ups and downs. Prices for recyclable materials are no more predictable than the weather.

Used glass and newspaper have fallen in price lately. But we've been through these cycles before. Sometimes the city loses money, sometimes it profits.

We shouldn't let our enthusiasm for a worthwhile project wane simply because we're in the trough of the wave. Have no fear, it will crest again. ( 01/10/97 )


What counts

Dedication, perseverance, honesty; these are the qualities that define good citizenship. And so we salute the dozen stalwarts that faced -45C and ice fog to count birds last week.

The discovery of a snowy owl in such climactic conditions should serve as a reminder that the rewards life offers are there, if only we look long enough and hard enough.

Other Yellowknifers should be inspired by their example to search for snowy owl within each of us. ( 01/10/97 )