B.C. mineral exploration expenditures hit a record in 2022, says Premier

British Columbia-focused mineral explorers set a new spending record in 2022, hitting $740.4 million, announced Premier David Eby on Monday during an industry event in Vancouver.

The figure surpasses the previous record a decade ago of $681 million and $660 in 2021.

The rise was underpinned by an 84% increase in copper exploration budgets, with the province’s so-called Golden Triangle in the northwest capturing the bulk of the attention.

The final figures for B.C.’s mining production are also expected to be a record $18.2 billion, Eby said during the opening of the Association of Mineral Exploration (AME) Roundup conference. That’s a $4.3 billion increase over 2021.

Director of the B.C. Geological Survey’s development office Gordon Clark attributed the increase in value over 2021 to soaring metallurgical coal prices that achieved a high of US$670 per tonne last year and remains relatively high at close to US$300 per tonne as of December.

During a regional overview session, he said that B.C. currently has seven operating metallurgical coal mines. B.C. is also Canada’s largest producer of copper and gold and the country’s only producer of molybdenum.

Copper is among the critical minerals identified in Canada’s new federal Critical Minerals Strategy as key to both the digital economy and the energy transition, and it’s one mineral B.C. has in relative abundance.

The estimated global demand for copper will grow by 4.7 million tonnes by 2030, thanks to the increased demand from the energy transition and greater urbanization, said Teck Resources’ (TSX: TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) recently appointed CEO, Jonathan Price. The company operates the large-scale Highland Valley Copper mine, 330 km east of Vancouver.

“To put that into perspective, Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine here in B.C. is Canada’s largest copper mine,” Price said. “Four-point-seven million tonnes would be the equivalent of building another 35 Highland Valley Copper mines in just seven years.”

The time factor in getting new metal to market is of great concern to exhibitors on the Roundup display floor, especially concerning permitting new projects. It can take a decade or two to bring a discovery into production.

To this end, Eby has, as part of the provincial government’s efforts to address the housing crisis, committed to speed up permitting for housing, which is expected to quicken the pace for the resource industries.

“For decades, our province has had a slow and complicated permitting process system. It bogged down our province’s growth,” Eby said. “We announced two weeks ago a new major investment in addressing permitting in our province. New staff are coming on to expedite permits through the approvals process, and staff to assist us in reworking our permit system so it’s more efficient and faster.”

Eby also said he had asked his new energy and mines minister, Josie Osborne, to expedite a provincial critical minerals strategy.

Mineral Tenure Act challenge

Eby underlined that the success of explorers and miners in B.C. hinges on early engagement with First Nations.

Currently, the B.C. Mineral Tenure Act is facing a “very serious legal challenge” from a First Nation, and he expects more challenges to come.

First Nations pressing for changes to the act want to be notified when anyone files a mineral claim in their traditional territory. That has created some concerns for prospectors who consider mineral claims a form of intellectual property and therefore like to keep claims secret.

“I want to assure you that our government is committed to finding a way forward to address this issue,” Eby said. “We will be engaging with you as an industry to make sure that the regime works for you. But we will also do it in partnership with First Nations in our province.”

On Jan. 18, the B.C. government struck agreements with Blueberry River First Nations that essentially make them co-regulators. The first consent-based decision-making framework was signed last year with the Tahltan First Nation.

Minister Osborne reiterated the government’s commitment to co-develop a modernized Mineral Tenure Act. “I am confident that by working closely with First Nations, First Nations organizations, industry and communities, we can modernize the act in a way that balances our commitment to reconciliation with a thriving mineral exploration and mining sector,” she said in a statement.

Eby urged prospectors and exploration companies to work with First Nations to gain their consent when exploring and prospecting in their traditional territories.

“The very first contact that nations have around economic development or a particular proposal in their community is your industry,” Eby said. “You set the tone. So, if it’s a constructive and collaborative tone at the beginning, that leads to greater success down the road with mine development.”