| Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011 - Early Bird Registration Deadline is Tomorrow - December 10!
- Roundup 2011 Gets Social
Inside AME BC - AME BC Policy Position – Compensation for the Taking of Mineral Title
- AME BC 2011 Corporate Membership Now Available
- AME BC December 9th Speaker Series Event
- Members and Friends of AME BC Honoured with Awards
- Follow AME BC on Twitter!
Health & Safety Mineral Exploration News - Bill C-469, An Act to Establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights
- Ministry of Natural Resources Operations
- Karina Briño Appointed ADM, Mines and Mineral Resources Division Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands
- Fill Out the Fraser Institute Survey Online
- BC Mining Industries Human Resource Task Force
- Mining Matters Column - December 1st Article
In Memoriam - Charles Hector "Chuck" Davis
Employment Opportunities
Courses & Education
Upcoming Events and Conferences
Sponsored By:
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| Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011 |
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| Early Bird Registration Deadline is Tomorrow - December 10! |
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| The early bird registration deadline for Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011 is approaching quickly. Register before December 10 to save $100 off the full delegate price. Also, for the third year, AME BC is presenting the annual Free Registration Draw; simply register before December 10 and be entered to win free registration to Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011. To register now visit www.amebc.ca/roundup/overview-2011/roundupregistration.aspx. |
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| Roundup 2011 Gets Social |
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| The CORE blog
For the third year in a row, the CORE blog is back for Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011. Each year the CORE, AME BC’s official blog, is packed with up-to-date information and articles during Mineral Exploration Roundup for media, delegates, and the general public. Want to be a Roundup 2011 Blogger? AME BC is looking for a full time blogger for Mineral Exploration 2011. No professional experience necessary; paid position. For more information please contact Mary Hughes, Manager, New Media & Creative at mhughes@amebc.ca. Find us on facebook
Search “AME BC” and find us now on facebook. Our new page includes not only AME BC information, but full Roundup 2011 coverage. Follow us on Twitter
For the second consecutive year AME BC will be tweeting up to and all through Mineral Exploration Roundup. Follow us @AME_BC for access to instant information about anything and everything Roundup! |
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| Inside AME BC |
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| AME BC Policy Position – Compensation for the Taking of Mineral Title |
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| December 8, 2010 Letter to:
Hon. Steve Thomson, Minister of Natural Resource Operations
Hon. Pat Bell, Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands
Hon. Randy Hawes, Minister of State for Mining On behalf of the 300 corporate and 4,000 individual members of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (AME BC), I wish to remind you that AME BC rejects the notion that paying for sunk costs equates to fair and reasonable compensation for the taking of mineral title. Attached is AME BC’s position paper on this issue. AME BC recognizes that there are times when mineral title must be taken back by government for purposes other than mineral exploration and mine development; however, we submit that these occurrences should be rare and that the decision to take back a mineral title should be done with the greatest degree of consideration, with the fullest possible information available and that compensation should form the basis of any settlement. As such, AME BC believes that fair market value must be the norm in working through the valuation of any mineral title in arriving at a reasonable, appropriate and acceptable level of compensation. We look forward to further discussion with government on this matter. If you have any questions regarding our submission, please contact me at 604-630-3920 or gdirom@amebc.ca. Sincerely,
Gavin C. Dirom
President & Chief Executive Officer
Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia |
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| AME BC 2011 Corporate Membership Now Available |
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| Interested in becoming a 2011 Corporate Member of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia? AME BC Corporate Members benefit every day from our advocacy efforts as well as from networking and other promotional and sponsorship opportunities. Benefits provide invaluable exposure to leaders in the business community. Click here to view our membership brochure, to lean more about the benefits. Signing up online is quick and easy! Or you can also fill out a manual form and mail or fax it to the AME BC office at: Association for Mineral Exploration BC
800-889 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2 Fax: 604.681.2363 *Renewing or purchasing AME BC Individual Membership online is also available. AME BC, a leading mineral exploration association with a century of experience, helps its over 4000 members explore and network throughout British Columbia and the world. To learn more and become a Corporate Member today visit www.amebc.ca/membership. |
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| AME BC December 9 Speaker Series Event |
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| The first installment of the 2010/2011 AME BC Speaker Series is a luncheon event on Thursday, December 9, and guest speakers will include the Honourable Randy Hawes, BC Minister of State for Mining; and the Honourable Pat Bell, BC Minister of Forests, Mines and Lands. AME BC would sincerely like to thank the premier sponsors of the 2010/2011 Series, Rescan: Engineers and Scientists, The TMX Group, Wardrop: a Tetra Tech Company and PwC, as well as partner sponsor, KPMG LLP. If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Simone Hill at shill@amebc.ca. |
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| Members and Friends of AME BC Honoured with Awards |
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| The fall has been generous to the mineral exploration community as AME BC’s members have received accolade upon accolade. Dr. Norman Keevil, chairman of AME BC Corporate Member and Roundup Patron Sponsor Teck Resources, has been honoured with the Fraser Institute's T. Patrick Boyle Founder's Award during a gala dinner in Vancouver on November 17, 2010.
The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce and TD Canada Trust Small Business Banking presented Mark Brown, long-time member and president of Northern Trailer with the Excel Personnel Business Person of the Year at its annual awards in Kamloops in October. Also in October, Rescan Environmental Services Ltd. received the Achievement in Business Excellence (ABEX) award in the category of Environment, presented by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. The ABEX Environment Award goes to a business that demonstrates excellence in the development of innovative programs, products and/or services offering improvement for environmental purposes. Improvements may relate to soil, air, water, noise or visual pollutants, or energy conservation. AME BC will host its own 28th annual Awards Dinner at Mineral Exploration Roundup on Wednesday, January 26. Each year, the event is sold out well in advance, so be sure to register early. Look out for an announcement soon regarding the 2010 recipients of AME BC’s awards. |
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| Follow AME BC on Twitter! |
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| You can now follow AME BC on Twitter at @AME_BC. Our twitter feed features news, events, announcements, and is a great way of keeping up to date with our activities. AME BC’s twitter feed is another one of the many ways that AME BC is striving to keep members informed and engaged. |
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| Health & Safety |
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| Holiday Safety Tips |
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| AME BC wishes its members a safe, happy holiday season. Here are links to some sites to help make your Christmas and New Year enjoyable. |
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| Mineral Exploration News |
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| Bill C-469, An Act to Establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights |
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| The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) and the Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) have expressed their concerns regarding Bill C-469, An Act to Establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights. Although the goal of the bill is environmental protection, BCBC and MABC have expressed concerns that the bill would in fact compromise the ability of parliamentarians, regulators, and other authorities to make sound decisions regarding the environment and would instead lead to significant litigation. Supporting Documents: Letter from Greg D'Avignon, President and CEO, BCBC to Ms. Guyanne Desforges, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustaibable Development on November 25, 2010. Letter from Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, MABC, to Ms. Guyanne Desforges, Standing Committee on Environment and Sustaibable Development on December 3, 2010. |
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| Ministry of Natural Resources Operations |
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| On October 25, 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations (MNRO) was created to ensure better coordination across the resource-based ministries. This new ministry consists of two main Divisions: Regional Operations and Provincial Operations. The Mineral Titles Branch is now part of the Provincial Operations Division. The establishment of the ministry is based on input from the Integrated Land Management Bureau Board and the Resource Management Coordination Project, which is represented by staff from all of the BC resource ministries. The creation of the ministry grew from the idea and recognition that greater coordination of government operations on the Crown land base is crucial. The goal of the ministry is to integrate and simplify land management to stimulate the economy and create jobs, while at the same time maintaining a commitment to strict environmental standards. The ministry focus is on “One process, one project” - a single review framework that is timely, predictable and science-based. The overarching goal is to establish service excellence across the natural resource ministries through the coordination of people and resources, by reducing duplication, streamlining processes and finding efficiencies. This means predictability for industry but at the same time an absolute commitment to ensuring environmental standards are maintained and enforced. |
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| Karina Briño Appointed ADM, Mines and Mineral Resources Division Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands |
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| On November 22, Karina Briño was appointed ADM, Mines and Mineral Resources Division, Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands. Prior to that she worked with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR) for over 5 years. She began her MEMPR career with the Mining and Minerals Division, first as Director of Sustainability, then as Executive Director of the Policy and Sustainability Branch, Executive Director of Regional Operations, and most recently, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Titles, Aboriginal and Corporate Relations Division. Karina was also the Executive Lead for the Minister’s Council on Mineral Exploration and Mining, which was created in 2008. Karina has 15 years of experience in developing and delivering programs and services to help government meet its goals. Prior to her work in the natural resources sector, Karina spent several years in social services, providing direct client service primarily to youth at risk and adults with special needs, and she also spent several years designing and developing programs aimed at promoting self-reliance and re-attachment to the labour force. With this experience, Karina led the implementation of commitments set out by the Province in the 2005 BC Mining Plan. These commitments included initiatives addressing skills shortages and training needs in the mining industry, and creating significant multi-agency partnerships between First Nations, industry, academia, and federal and provincial governments. The Reclamation and Prospecting (RAP) Program was one such partnership and is something for which Karina is very proud to have received two Premier’s Awards in 2010. Karina was a member of the Standards Council of Canada’s Advisory Committee on Social Responsibility, which was established to guide the development of ISO 26000 and the role it will play within industry, government and civil society. She is also a past board member of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), and was part of the Chile–Vancouver Agreement Team for IPAC’s Public Sector Capacity Building for Governance and Social Development Program. This high-profile pilot project tested innovative models to build sustainable communities and brought together the Government of Chile, the Government of Canada, the Province of B.C., Chilean Regional Governments, the City of Vancouver, NGOs, private-sector representatives and academia to develop partnerships to deal with issues of poverty and youth at risk in selected Chilean communities. |
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| Fill Out the Fraser Institute Survey Online |
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| The Fraser Institute requests exploration and mining companies to complete its annual mineral industry survey. The survey ranks countries and certain states and provinces according to the predictability and transparency of their mining policies and taxation structure. "Mining ministries around the world, particularly in Canada, pay close attention to the survey," said Miguel Cervantes, an economist with the Institute. "This interest has helped put most Canadian provinces near the top of the policy heap but more work needs to be done. Sometimes government officials do not fully understand the impact of policy decisions and the survey helps bring those weaknesses to their attention." The survey, which will take a few minutes to complete, is here. The results of last year’s survey are here. |
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BC Mining Industries Human Resource Task Force
“A Career in Mining is more than you think” |
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| The BC Mining Industries Human Resource Task Force (The HR Task Force) “Explore for More British Columbia” booth was on display at the Career Education Society Conference on November 25 and 26, and the new “A Career in Mining is more than you think” brochure was handed out to delegates. If you would like more information about the HR Task Force or copies of the “Explore for More British Columbia” brochure, please contact Tracey Sexton at tsexton@amebc.ca. Background The HR Task Force continues to implement components of the "BC Mineral Exploration and Mining Industry Human Resources Strategy" published in June 2008. In spite of the downturn in the world economy over the past year there are clear signs of recovery led by the commodity sector and related industries. This, coupled with the looming demographic changes associated with the retirement of the baby boomer generation, has led most informed observers to strongly advocate the continued focus on mitigation strategies to offset the anticipated labour shortages that are inevitable. A significant objective identified in the Human Resources Strategy was the development of an industry brand for BC that would encourage the attraction and retention of people into the various components of the BC mining sector. To that end, the Task Force recently engaged a consultant to undertake with our members, a facilitated session from which we have developed a strategy plan based on the now licensed and approved brand/tagline Explore for More British Columbia. The HR Task Force has undertaken this process in conjunction with the national Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHR), who is represented on the Task Force as a close collaborative partner. |
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| Mining Matters Column - Joint Initiative between the Smithers Exploration Group and the Town of Smithers |
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| The first "Mining Matters" article was published on March 10, 2010. This is a bi-weekly column that is published in the Interior News, posted on the Town of Smithers website, the Smithers Exploration Group website, and the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako Mining Portal. These articles profile the importance of the mining industry to the community and is a result of the joint initiative between the Smithers Exploration Group and the Town of Smithers. Current Article: December 1st, 2010 Article
(click here for back issues) |
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| In Memoriam |
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| Charles Hector "Chuck" Davis (1935 - 2010), the writer and broadcaster, was born in Winnipeg November 17, 1935. He died November 20, 2010, aged 75. Chuck came to Vancouver with his dad George in 1944, then moved with him again to Toronto in 1948. He left school at age 13 and had a variety of jobs until he joined the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry on June 1, 1953. He was stationed at Currie Barracks in Calgary. From there he was sent in 1955 to West Germany and ended up as an announcer at CAE, the Canadian Army radio station at Werl. Private C. Davis was the first person on the air on the station's first full day March 22, 1956. Following his discharge in late 1956 Chuck decided to stay in radio. He worked at several stations in Ontario, then came to BC in 1960 to work at Radio CJVI in Victoria. From there he went to CHEK-TV, also in Victoria, and next to CBC Radio in Vancouver. He was an announcer there, and then in 1963 an announcer-operator for the CBC in Prince Rupert. While he was in Prince Rupert Chuck sold his first piece of writing (it was to Daryl Duke, then with CBC Toronto.) Then it was back to CBC Vancouver where he met his future wife, Edna, who worked in the newsroom. They married August 30, 1965 in Toronto while he was doing summer relief announcing for the CBC there. His first newspaper piece (on how to construct crossword puzzles) appeared in The Vancouver Sun in 1966. In January 1969 he started with CHAN-TV (later BCTV, now Global). Chuck and Edna's daughter Stephanie was born in Vancouver in 1972. His first book, a guide to Vancouver, appeared in 1973. His urban almanac, The Vancouver Book, came out in 1976. Chuck devised and hosted a word game show, Look that Up, that was heard on CBC Radio's national network starting in 1983. He followed that up with Conquest!, a show based on knowledge of other countries. He also devised crossword and other word puzzles, and wrote dozens of limericks, many of which were clean. Chuck did a daily items column for the Province that eventually changed to a regular weekly column on Vancouver history. That led to more books: Two weeks in Vancouver (with John Ewing); Kids! Kids! Kids! And Vancouver! (with Daniel Wood): Turn on to Canada!; Vancouver: An Illustrated Chronology (with Shirley Mooney); Top Dog! A History of CKNW; The Greater Vancouver Book: An Urban Encyclopaedia; Where Rails Meet Rivers: The Story of Port Coquitlam; Vancouver Then & Now and others. At the time of his death, Chuck was working on his magnum opus The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. In early 2009, he was commissioned to write the history of AME BC for its upcoming 100th anniversary in 2012. Chuck quickly delved into the project with his trademark enthusiasm, methodically researching and uncovering nuggets to weave captivating tales. Chuck immediately developed a passion for learning about the history of the association and mineral exploration and mining development. In his conversations with members, Chuck uncovered an apt title for the project: Busting Rocks. Although Chuck was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the summer of 2010, he continued to work on the book with the support of Jim Lyon through the fall. During the fall, the Past Presidents presented Chuck Davis with the Frank Woodside Past Presidents Distinguished Service Award in a small ceremony. Shortly before his passing, Chuck was also recognized by his peers in the writing community with the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for his literary contributions to B.C. The City of Vancouver also proclaimed October 8, 2010 as Chuck Davis Day in his honour. |
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| Employment Opportunities |
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| Want to Post an Ad on the AME BC Job Board? If you are an employer and would like to post a job, use the post a job function here. The cost for each posting is $200, which will remain active for 45 days. AME BC corporate members receive one free posting with a yearly membership or renewal, with all subsequent postings at a 50% member discounted rate. To use your free posting, please email the complete job posting information to mhughes@amebc.ca. To use your subsequent 50% discount, simply make sure you are logged in and let the payment calculator do the rest. |
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| Courses & Education |
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| AME BC’s tradition of education for the mineral exploration sector dates back to 1918, when it held its first prospecting seminar. Since then, thousands of students have received training in prospecting, mineral exploration, health and safety, and aboriginal engagement through AME BC. Click here to view AME BC’s Education and Professional Development section. Other Professional Development Opportunities Several of AME BC’s Corporate Members have professional development programs geared toward our diverse membership. Current offerings are available here. |
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| Upcoming Events & Conferences |
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| AME BC Events Calendar
Mineral Exploration Roundup 2011 External Event Calendar AME BC helps to facilitate and promote external events that benefit our members. Use this calendar to see what events are on the horizon and get detailed information. |