Geoscience event to draw 500
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 22/00) - Oil and gas exploration is drawing people north.
And things will be no different at this week's 28th Geoscience Forum in Yellowknife, which begins today at the Explorer Hotel.
"Oil and gas is really up this year. A lot of people are coming in to see the oil and gas session," said NWT Chamber of Mines office manager JoAnne Tiemessen.
Organizers added an oil and gas session to the agenda a couple of years ago, which was expanded last year.
This year's session includes presentations on the sedimentary geology and the hydrocarbon potential of the NWT as well as presentations by petroleum and pipeline companies. Delegates will also be able to discuss regulatory issues.
Tiemessen estimates the conference, the NWT's largest, will draw about 500 delegates. As of Monday, about 400 people had registered for the forum. She adds many of those registering are new.
"There's excitement about oil and gas, and the diamond excitement continues," Chamber of Mines general manager Mike Vaydik said.
Vaydik said Darnley Bay and Twin Mining are among the latest diamond developments. In the Inuvialuit region, Darnley Bay started out looking for deep base metals and has now turned its focus to diamonds.
Twin Mining has discovered several kimberlites on their Helix claim on Baffin Island.
"That's a good sign," he said. "And we're seeing renewed interest in base metals, with zinc leading the pack."
Another interesting development is the Muskox intrusion in the Kitikmeot region. Muskox hosts platinum and palladium and prices for these two metals are currently robust.
For the public, NASA's Pascal Lee will give a free presentation at the legislative assembly building tonight (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. Lee will talk about how NASA used the Arctic's Devon Island (north of Baffin Island) to simulate the surface of the planet Mars.
