COMDA shows results at halfway point

The $30-million federal-provincial agreement was signed back in 1985 and is one of a series of similar Mineral Development Agreements (MDAs) signed by the federal government and all the provinces, except Alberta.

On a country-wide basis, a total of $254 million is being spent under the various MDAs. Roughly half, or $144 million is coming from the federal government, while $110 million represents the provincial share of over-all MDA funding. A breakdown of MDA expenditures by province is as follows: Total ProvinceMDA FundsPeriod ($ million) Quebec100.01985-90 Ontario 30.01985-90 Nova Scotia 26.91984-89 Manitoba 24.71984-89 New Brunswick 22.31984-89 Newfoundland 22.01984-89 British Columbia 10.01985-90 Saskatchewan 6.41984-89 Yukon Territory 3.91985-89 Prince Edward Island 0.31986-89

Ontario’s single largest COMDA program is the $18.35-million geoscience program comprising a total of 55 geoscience projects.

At mid-point, 33 of the 55 projects have resulted in visible impacts, the government progress report says.

In the Ignace area, important results have come from a study of base metal deposits near Sturgeon Lake, Ont. In Eastern Ontario, geoscience projects raised development possibilities for wollastonite and sillimanite minerals. Geophysical and geochemical surveys completed under COMDA programs in a number of areas have further enhanced the province’s geoscience database.

Under the economic development program, road access was improved in the Kirkland Lake- Highway 101 area in support of mineral development. The Harker- Holloway road was a big help in the development of the Holt-McDermott gold mine, which opened in 1988.

Another success story has resulted from research under the $3.5-million Productivity and Technology Program. Several projects have focused on improving knowledge about backfilling mined-out spaces in some of Ontario’s underground mines.

The development of “dense” and “paste” fills has helped to improve productivity in deep mining and provided greater ground support as well as lowered mining costs.

Dense fills contain 5-10% more solids than traditional fills. The resulting lower water content reduces cement consumption by up to 15%. This, in turn, reduces clean up costs associated with water leakage from backfilling. Paste fill, at about 15% water, contains even less water than dense fill.

COMDA activities will be displayed at the Ottawa Congress Centre during upcoming Geological Survey of Canada’s Current Activities Forum scheduled for mid-January.

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