Commentary — Grassroots exploration spending on the rise in British Columbia

In 1995, three types of deposits accounted for 82% of exploration expenditures in British Columbia. These include:

* gold-enriched porphyry copper and porphyry-related gold deposits; * polymetallic massive sulphide deposits (volcanogenic, seafloor hydrothermal and sedex); and

* vein deposits (epithermal and mesothermal).

The remainder consisted of coal, industrial minerals, skarns and less traditional targets such as sedimentary copper and ultramafic-associated nickel.

Of the $91 million in total exploration expenditures, about 40% was directed at properties that existed at the unadvanced, or grassroots, stage.

Exploration expenditures in 1995 declined by an estimated 9% from 1994, which continues the downtrend in exploration spending over the past decade. The peak year was 1988, when a total of $225 million was spent, coinciding with the height of flow-through funding.

Although most of the 1995 programs were focused on areas that featured mines or known showings (together with existing infrastructure), a fair amount of work was directed at new, relatively low-budget, regional projects.

The diversity of targets, many of which are large, such as Highland Valley Copper and Sullivan, continue to make British Columbia a good place to explore. And the profitability of smaller, higher-grade deposits, such as Eskay Creek and Snip, only adds to the province’s lustre.

In general, the level of grassroots exploration remained relatively high in 1995, and is expected to increase even further in 1996.

Several advanced projects will be developed further in 1996, provided relatively high metals prices are sustained and uncertainties in land-use policies and First Nations’ negotiations are dealt with in an orderly manner.

— The above information is from “British Columbia Mining, Development and Exploration: 1995 Overview,” published by the province’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.