New prospectors course scheduled
Two-day training program expands to three communities in second year
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Monday, September 14, 2015
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
A new prospecting course will be offered in three communities this fall, building on the interest and success of a similar course delivered last year in Yellowknife.
Bjorkman Prospecting's Veronique Bjorkman, left, discusses a rock sample with Lisa Berthier during a weekend introduction to prospecting course hosted by the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, GNWT Geoscience Office, and TerraX Minerals Inc. in 2014. This year the course is being offered in three communities. - NNSL file photo |
The two-day Introduction to Prospecting course will be offered in Behchoko, Dettah and Yellowknife in late September and early October.
The courses were co-ordinated through a partnership between the Tlicho Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the departments of Industry, Tourism and Investment plus Education, Culture and Employment, along with Aurora Geosciences, TerraX Minerals Inc., the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, the NWT Mine Training Society and Skills Canada NWT.
TerraX spokesperson David Connelly told News/North that last year's course was well-received and two graduates even received $15,000 in grants for prospecting this year from the GNWT's mining incentive program. However, Connelly said the course didn't attract any aboriginal participants.
"We reached out to partners like the Tlicho Government, the Mine Training Society and Skills Canada who had more expertise in engaging aboriginal participants," Connelly said.
Connelly added that this year the program has expanded its marketing to include more posters in communities and advertising in media outlets that emphasizes the coursework will be done on local land.
The goal is to have students attending the courses be reflective of the population and have a 50 per cent aboriginal participation rate. Connelly said young people and experienced elders who spend time on the land, as well as aboriginal or territorial government employees whose jobs influence the mineral sector are all encouraged to attend.
Tuition is only $40, but waved for Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene.
"If this works well this year we can expand it to other communities," Connelly said.
According to Connelly, the current population of prospectors in the territory has also fallen significantly due to retirement, death and relocation outside of the NWT.
"There are very few Northern resident prospectors left," he said. "We need to replenish the supply of prospectors in the territory. It's a lost skill and art that's based on living and travelling across the land."
Prospector Jessica Bjorkman will be leading the course, with assistance from professional geologists in industry and government.
Connelly said that it's notable that Bjorkman and her three sisters come from a family with multiple generations involved in prospecting because they counter the stereotype that prospecting is profession where success is limited to middle-aged, white men. He also pointed out that traditionally, aboriginal people used minerals like copper long before they were mined commercially.
The two-day course includes classroom learning and time in the field. Participants will learn prospecting skills, including basic and NWT geology, staking claims, bush navigation, sampling, regulatory information and more. Each class has a maximum enrolment of 30 students, who will receive a toolkit from Aurora Geosciences worth approximately $45.
Interested individuals can register with the NWT Mine Training Society online or by phone. The deadline to register is Sept. 18. Participants must be 18 or older.
Connelly estimated that the costs for each two-day course were a mix of $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in in-kind services. For example, TerraX is providing a geologist for the course that they are paying for.
"By the time you finish the course you should be able to apply for our prospector's licence," Connelly said.
-with files from Stewart Burnett
