Manitoba’s mining-friendly and open for business

Manitoba is mining-friendly and open for business.

That was the message of provincial Mines Minister Donald Orchard here at the 25th Annual Manitoba Mining, Minerals and Petroleum Convention. And to help get his point across, the minister rolled out much of the membership of the provincial cabinet, including Premier Gary Filmon.

Orchard’s comments came as welcome relief to the sellout crowd of recession-weary explorationists and executives.

“Our future prosperity in this country depends on the wealth creation of the mining sector,” Orchard said, “and we in this government are anxious to build on the billion-dollar gross provincial product that mining currently contributes to Manitoba.”

He added that Manitoba — with its Mineral Exploration Incentive Program, its “tax holiday” for new mines, and a Mining Act supportive of development — has created an environment which will attract exploration dollars. Sounding like a salesman eager to attract venture capital, Orchard proclaimed that “Manitoba has geology which is close to major infrastructure such as roads and power lines. We want your companies here . . . and I look forward to working with you to keep mining in Manitoba.”

In case these words were not sufficiently promotional, Premier Filmon followed with a strong message of support.

“We in Manitoba are bucking some alarming national trends,” he said. “Well, I tell you that Manitoba is open for business and we are fully committed to making Manitoba the best place in which to locate . . . we are fully committed to working with, and for, you.”

Both Filmon and Orchard were quick to cite recent mineral-related successes in the province, including: the zinc pressure-leaching process of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting (TSE), Dow Corning’s silicon-manufacturing technology, and the landmark First Nations agreement of Gossan Resources (VSE) for its Cross Lake property.

HudBay’s 2-stage zinc pressure leaching plant, which started up in August, is the first of its kind in the world. By dissolving zinc concentrate with acid and oxygen in autoclaves and producing elemental sulphur (as opposed to sulphur dioxide which is produced by conventional zinc plants), the company hopes to improve its ability to control air pollution.

The plant extracts 98-99% of the zinc in concentrate, says project manager B.D. Krysa. Annual production is expected to yield 94,000 tonnes zinc from about 187,000 tonnes of concentrate.

A major concern of the mines ministry, a well as politicians, is Dow Corning’s plant in East Selkirk. During the business session of the convention, company spokesman James May outlined some of the plant’s achievements.

He also discussed the commercial potential for silicon demand and compared the new technology with traditional hearthing methods. A 30% reduction in both unit and capital costs is expected as a result of the new technique. Also expected is a reduction in emissions and waste, as well as improved safety and operating conditions.

On the exploration front, provincial politicians cited a first-of-its-kind, joint-ownership agreement for 31 sq. km of high-potential property. Gossan has a 51% interest and Cross Lake Mineral Exploration (a public company controlled by the Cross Lake First Nation Band) a 49% stake in an ilmenite-vanadium pentoxide-magnetite deposit. The mineralization occurs in elongated lenses within three parallel east-west-striking zones over a minimum length of 11 km. Gossan and its First Nation partner intend to explore the property soon with a yet-to-be-announced major company. Gold mining also played a prominent role at the convention. After the Manitoba division of Inco (TSE) received an award for having contributed $100,000 to the preservation of Manitoba’s marshland, Orchard announced that Rea Gold (TSE) will receive a Mineral Exploration Incentive grant, as well as new mine status for its San Antonio gold property. The Bissett-area property is a former producer.

Rea President James Hogan pledged a $3-million exploration drill program to confirm new ore at depth which, he said, should add a million tons to reserves. Following exploration, the company hopes to raise an additional $27 million to return the mine to full production at 1,000 tons per day. — The author is a freelance writer from Red Lake, Ont.