Letters to the Editor Mining issues in New Brunswick

As head of one of the largest departments in the government and with responsibility for the two largest resource industries in the province, New Brunswick’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy occupies an influential position within the cabinet.

Mining’s importance is emphasized further by its position within the department’s structure. Of two assistant deputy ministers within DNRE, one is responsible for minerals and energy and the other is responsible for forestry. This exemplifies equal treatment within the department, not “second fiddle status” as reported in your editorial.

Despite government restrictions on budgets, which apply equally to all provincial departments, government geologists are encouraged to attend significant seminars and conferences. One such conference was the Prospectors and Developers Association conference in Toronto last March. Information presented by officials from our department at that conference led to a claims staking rush in the northern, Jacquet River volcanic-sedimentary belt which was described in your article entitled “Base metals exploration bounces back in Bathurst (N.M., Dec 12/88).”

We have records documenting attendance by our staff at mining conferences all over the world. As Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, I have represented the department at many mining industry functions, including two New Brunswick Mining Association meetings in 1988.

In 1988-89 the Province increased the budget of the Geological Surveys Branch by over 50%. The increase provides for a grant system called the Mineral Exploration Stimulation Program (MESP) which encourages exploration activity. MESP had an initial budget of $150,000. Due to the success of the program, an additional $50,000 was added. The department hopes to be able to continue MESP under a new Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) which is under negotiation with Ottawa.

The budget increase also provides for hiring a geophysicist, geochemist and a metallic specialist. These are positions which industry has requested.

Since the mid-1970s federal/ provincial mineral development agreements in New Brunswick have committed in excess of $33 million to mineral resource identification and development projects. New Brunswick’s share of these funds was in excess of the department’s ongoing budget. The MDA’s have greatly accelerated gathering and publication of geological information on New Brunswick’s mineral potential. Over the same period the value of mineral production in New Brunswick rose from $238.6 million in 1976 to over $700 million in 1987.

Your editorial attempts to compare expenditures on forestry with expenditures on minerals in this province. This is not a valid comparison. The forests require expensive and ongoing nurturing and protection services in order to produce optimum yields and ensure regeneration. Costs associated with government responsibilities for minerals include location, identification and research on new technologies, in addition to administering the various acts. A more valid exercise would have been to compare mining expenditures in New Brunswick to mining expenditures in other jurisdictions.

To be competitive in world mineral markets, government, private sector and universities must co-operate in research, development and technology transfer. This government is committed to providing information and knowledge of the resources base to assist industry in finding new orebodies. We are also concerned about acid mine drainage, and we are making every effort to develop ways of adding value to raw minerals before they leave the province.

Presently, the department is working on a strategy to raise public awareness of the importance of the mineral industry to New Brunswick’s economy. Provincial efforts are being co-ordinated with those of the federal government, other provinces and the New Brunswick Mining Association to avoid duplication and to maximize results. Hon. Morris Green Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Fredericton, N.B.

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