Editorial Honoring the past, looking to the future For we’ll sing

It is to make Canadians more aware of the wealth that our mines produce day in and day out, and pay homage to some of the leaders who have made this possible that the new Canadian Mining Hall of Fame has been established. The wonder is that something like this was not done long ago, for the buildup of our mining industry to its present world stature has been under way for years.

We feel rather strongly that the likes of the Hall’s initial inductees (cited elsewhere in this issue) and others to come deserve to be better known. Too, isn’t it about time that the average Canadians realized that they would not be enjoying their present high standing of living without the wealth and job producing mining industry.

Because there is much catching up top do, most of the initial inductions had to be made posthumously, and mostly for actual mine discoveries. But this may change somewhat as the project grows, broadening into the fields of technical and social contributions. But the process will continue highly selective, and demanding of major achievement. This Hall is truly national in scope, with the awards just made being for major developments extending from British Columbia to Labrador. No government funding has been involved, Chairman Maurice Brown points out.

By publicizing the industry in this way, the sponsors hope to attract more of the younger fraternity into mining. While unlikely to ever rival hockey or baseball in popularity, this certainly can be an exciting and rewarding field — one that has come a long, long way since the Cobalt days when the discovery of fabulously rich silver deposits launched the mining industry as we know it today.

Too few of the many people who have become mining legends are widely known, even though they literally forged and shaped the very nature of this nation. The opportunities for more discoveries of the Cobalt ilk are still there. But they will be more difficult to find.

The decline in base metal exploration is of particular concern, William James, head of the Falconbridge organization, said in his keynote address at the Hall’s inaugural dinner, pointing out that it is now over 20 years since the last “elephant” — Kidd Creek — was discovered.

Base metal exploration accounted for over 60% of the exploration dollars spent in Canada in 1975 , yet only about 15% of the nearly $1 billion budgeted in 1987. “We are continuing to mine and deplete our resources at high rates and not replacing them fast enough,” James said.

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