Manitoba provides exploration dollars

The government of Manitoba has approved $4.5 million in mineral exploration funding.

Energy and Mines Minster David Newman recently announced that the Manitoba Mineral Exploration Assistance Program (MEAP) would allocate the funds to 70 new exploration projects in the province. The proposed exploration expenditures for these projects is $17.7 million.

“This is the largest response to an MEAP offering since its inception in the fall of 1995,” Newman says. “The variety and high quality of the applications underscore the current strength of Manitoba’s mining industry and its potential for growth.”

Applicants for MEAP funding include eight new companies. The approved applications include exploration projects for copper, zinc, nickel, silver, platinum, diamonds, cobalt and chromite. Eight of the approved applications are for projects in the area north and east of Lake Winnipeg, which, because of their remoteness, require a higher rate of assistance.

Newman notes that for every dollar provided through the program, close to $5 is spent on mineral exploration, including such activities as geological mapping, line cutting, diamond drilling, surveys and sampling. He adds that direct exploration activity creates a demand for spinoff businesses, and these spinoffs raise to more than $7 the economic impact of every MEAP dollar provided.

Since 1995, 65 companies with funding under MEAP have conducted work in Manitoba.