LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — Discontented prospector takes The

It is unfortunate that your staff resorts to derogatory commentary when reviewing press releases issued by juniors while glossing over some of the spectacular disasters engineered by majors. Two recent articles describing the Kingswood Resources Ltd. kimberlite pipe at Ile Bizard, Que., contained statements that misrepresent the facts to readers and investors alike.

The property partially overlies the Royal Montreal Golf Club as reported (T.N.M. Sept. 28/1992), but the “pain de sucre” kimberlite pipe and adjacent magnetic targets are outside the golf boundary. A portion of the south boundary crosses a part of one of the 45-plus fairways. The golf club had been contacted prior to the staking and in fact helped co-ordinate location of the claim posts, according to the original survey of the “seigneurie de l’Ile Bizard.”

The proposed ban on “all exploration” at Ile Bizard (T.N.M., Oct. 5/92) exists only in your staff’s imagination. Stakers have now received their “certificate d’enregistrement” for claims recorded (issued after your so-called ban was imposed). The right to explore and develop the claims remains unaffected — an impression not left by your recent articles. The Ministry of Energy and Resources has acted to avoid repetition of the events of Sept. 13 when competing parties staked up to six claims over single lots. The new restrictions require prospectors to seek written permission from the ministry prior to staking so that special conditions may be imposed according to the circumstances.

Still more offensive is the tone of your reports of the tragic events in Yellowknife, N.W.T. To devote front page coverage to the resumption of production, complete with $10,000 damage estimates, without any mention of the victims or their families is callous beyond excuse. Similar sentiments expressed by company administration in other print media, radio and television, help shed light on the deplorable labor attitude brought into this country by Royal Oak Mines.

I, a prospector, urge you to return the Miner to something approximating its “on the level” motto.

Glenn Mullan

Val d’Or, Que.