Geoscience forum promotes North
First conference since devolution highlights opportunities and challenges
Walter Strong
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 28 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The 42nd annual 2014 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum is in the books and was an opportunity to once again promote the North.
Chris Lam, civil engineering technologist with Stantec Yellowknife, learns about the Ekati Diamond Mine from Christine Lewandowski, Dominion Diamond Ekati Corporation communications team leader on Wednesday at the 2014 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum tradeshow.Diamond exploration and mining has been credited as a key economic driver in the North. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo |
The final count wasn't in as of press time, but as of yesterday, the registrant count for the forum was more than 700.
This was the first forum since devolution and that wasn't lost on Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ramsay in his opening remarks on Tuesday.
"April 1 was a landmark date," he said. "Geoscience is the foundation of our future. We now have the necessary tools and authority to responsibly develop the territory's significant resource potential, and manage the land and environment according to Northern needs and Northern priorities."
Those Northern priorities, said Ramsay, are to balance development with environmental protection.
Ramsay announced that a geological storage facility will be opened sometime in the near future - with cost and scale yet to be announced - to house the thousands of core samples, data logs, and geological samples that provide a record of NWT mineral exploration.
"This collection has been compiled over many decades and was inherited by the GNWT through our devolution agreement," Ramsay said.
Core and log records are an important resource for mineral exploration companies, Ramsay said, and will promote spending on grassroots exploration through the millions of dollars in drilling the resources represent.
Grassroots exploration is sorely needed in the North, according to some participants at the forum trade show.
Rod Brown founded Yellowknife-based Discovery Mining Services and later sold it but remained as part of the company to manage special projects.
Discovery Mining Services provides remote exploration camps throughout Canada and the NWT.
"It's been a challenging year," Brown told Yellowknifer on the trade show floor. "There's not a lot of exploration or new projects. A lot of the projects up and running are more advanced and they've had a lot of work done on them."
Advanced projects and camps need services and Discovery Mining Services is one company which provides those services, but expediting supplies for established camps doesn't generate the volume of work new exploration camps would generate.
Even if it did, there are not enough advanced camps in operation to create a vibrant demand for services.
"In the past there were so many camps to service we were flat-out," Brown said. "We've probably trimmed our employee levels down by 75 to 80 per cent. We're down to the bare minimum, (with) four full-time (employees). We need new grassroots projects (and) I think we've got another tough year ahead, but I do see some glimmer of hope that things are going to turn around."
Ramsay said there are signs that efforts taken by the GNWT since devolution to encourage grassroots spending are taking hold.
"Our ($400,000) mining incentive program was over-subscribed," Ramsay said.
Ramsay reported that since devolution, the NWT Mining Recorder's office has processed more than 300 new mineral claim applications.
"Some of the money that went into that program are paying dividends already. You'll be hearing more news about that soon."
The saving grace in the North has been diamonds.
"In 2013 the (diamond) industry contributed $1.67 billion in production value," Ramsay said.
"Diamonds currently contribute over 90 per cent of the total estimated value of mineral and non-mineral production."
Brown put those numbers into context.
"Diamonds have been a saviour over the last 10 years," he said. "Even in troubled times, a lot of diamond companies are still out exploring."
The Yellowknife Geoscience Forum is largest annual conference of its kind in the North. This year, it was spread out between two locations; the Capitol Theatre for technical presentations and the Ed Jeske Olympic arena at the Multiplex for the trade show.
A first for the conference this year was "NWT Night," a fundraiser for the Heritage Mining Society. Approximately $5,000 was raised for the society through ticket sales and donations.
