AME BC History - 1960s

During the early sixties visits by Japanese interests continued and AME BC continued to receive a good many inquiries regarding employment opportunities.  After numerous efforts over the years by the Chamber to eliminate restrictions on iron ore staking and mining, the government in 1960 eliminated most of the objectionable features of the legislation.  The same year the Chamber appointed a special committee to study the problems created by some objectionable features in proposed amendments to the NWT Canada Mining Regulations.

The 50th anniversary of AME BC, under President R.E. Legg, was celebrated on February 16, 1962, by a special Prospecting and Exploration Conference in the Regal Ballroom of the Hotel Georgia.  That same year a number of mineral exhibits were arranged by the Chamber, including quite an elaborate one at the Pacific National Exhibition.

Nineteen sixty-three saw Gavin Dirom take over as president from “Roy” Legg.  Shortly after, the official opening of the Bethlehem Copper Mill took place, highlighting the birth of the Highland Valley porphyry copper camp.  In another camp, at Bralorne, they were pouring their 3,000th gold bar.

Meanwhile, at AME BC, the appointment of two Japanese company representatives to the Honourary Advisory Board marked a milestone in AME BC’s history and in the same year a dynamic group of Canadians, The Keevil Mining Group, arrived from Toronto bent on making a little history of their own.

The 53rd Annual Meeting, when Dr. Jack Gower took over as president, was highlighted by the burning of AME BC's mortgage by Fraser Crocker, chairman of the finance committee.

Funds were relatively plentiful in those days, consequently, when BCIT began its first mining course with only ten students, AME BC lent a hand by producing and distributing several thousand copies of a brochure entitled “A Career for you in Mining”.  This proved so popular that an additional five thousand copies were printed.

Following repeated representations by AME BC, the provincial government exempted prospectors from the “Hours of Work Act” and the “Male Minimum Wage Act,” thus recognizing the irregular nature of exploration work.  Another item AME BC successfully lobbied for was the provision of additional radio frequencies by the federal Department of Transport for exploration crews working in remote areas of BC, Yukon, and the NWT.

Mining in BC, the Yukon and the NWT was now making a significant contribution to the Canadian economy.  In addition to recent discoveries at Faro in the Yukon and Pine Point by Vancouver based junior mining companies, over $150 million of capital investments were underway at Wesfrob, BC Molybdenum, Granisle, Granduc, Clinton Creek and Western Mines.  In addition two important new molybdenum mines operated at Endako and Boss Mountain.

Records show that AME BC was much admired and envied by similar aspiring groups of people in other parts of Canada, the US and also many other countries of the world.  As a result, AME BC's manager was much sought after as a speaker and participant in meetings.

It was in such a buoyant period that the Carter Royal Commission on Taxation released its recommendations for elimination of the three year tax exemption period for new mines, removal of the depletion allowance and proposed tax on capital gains.  The latter proposal caused a furor among prospectors whose “once in a lifetime” gain from the sale of a discovery would now be subject to tax.  AME BC and its members were adamantly opposed to taxation of a prospector’s gains and wrote hundreds of letters to Edgar Benson, Minister of Finance, on the subject.

Other highlights of the ‘60s were the production of a “directory” of mining and mining supply companies and exploration companies showing a breakdown of the various categories involved.  This was the first directory of its kind and was later emulated by the other organizations in Canada and the US.  In the same vein, so to speak, Tommy Elliott began compiling information each year for AME BC’s “Annual Review of Mineral Exploration Activities”.

Strange as it may seem, until then AME BC’s chief source of income had been from voluntary or solicited donations from companies and grants from governments but Ted Caldwell initiated the first structured fee system with beneficial results on the Chamber’s income.

Succeeding Jack Gower as president in the ‘60s were Ralph Macdonald and then Len White, who steered AME BC into the ‘70s.  Ted Caldwell became president during 1971-72 followed by Ed Scholz, Bob Sheldon, Bill Dunn and Don Mustard.