EXPLORATION’92 — Newfoundland responds to mining

A streamlined environmental assessment process, reduced taxes and the elimination of some fees are among measures Newfoundland and Labrador is taking to revitalize its ailing mineral industry.

Mines and Energy Minister Rex Gibbons told the recent annual meeting of the Newfoundland branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum that he wants to make the province an attractive place for investors.

“We recognize that these are difficult times for the mining industry,” Gibbons told about 100 delegates who turned out for his St. John’s address. “We intend to address the constraints facing the industry and promote Newfoundland and Labrador as a mining friendly place to do business.” Exploration has taken a beating in Newfoundland during the last couple of years, said the minister. Besides the Iron Ore Co. of Canada operation in Labrador City, there has been little processing, he said.

However, Gibbons said he was happy to learn that Royal Oak Mines (TSE) of Vancouver has successfully reactivated the Hope Brook gold mine on the province’s southwest coast, and is processing ore much more cheaply than its predecessor, BP Canada Ltd.

Gibbons said the main plank his government is using to stimulate the mining industry is contained in the Strategic Economic Plan, a document released this summer which is intended to serve as a blueprint for fixing Newfoundland’s economy generally.

The plan contains a list of measures specific to the mineral industry, which in the past has been Newfoundland’s most valuable production sector, Gibbons said. Though all the measures have yet to be implemented, he insisted they will take effect within the next year or two.

“This plan is an action plan,” Gibbons said. “It’s not a plan for the shelf.” Among the measures proposed are:

— a new fund to help mining companies pay for power lines, shipping facilities, access roads and other infrastructure;

— a cost-shared exploration fund with the federal government to help prospectors and junior exploration companies;

— elimination of many bureaucratic fees and charges now contained in the mineral act;

— promotion of mineral developments located close to Newfoundland’s shipping zones;

— cutting the corporate tax for small processing companies; — industry input into the creation of a new provincial mineral act; — an effort to harmonize and streamline the federal/provincial environmental assessment process to avoid duplication between different levels of government.