August 6, 2009

Volume 11 - Issue 11

Inside AME BC

• BC Harmonized Sales Tax: Member Feedback Needed
• AME BC President's Message - Q2 2009 
• AME BC Congratulates New National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo
• AME BC Aboriginal Engagement Toolkit Launched
• New AME BC Website Launched 
• AME BC Uranium & Thorium Exploration Guiding Principles

Health & Safety

• AME BC Health & Safety Guiding Principles
• Join the National Women in Mining Run for the Cure Team!

Mineral Exploration News

• BCSC Streamlines Short-Form Prospectus Offering Reviews for Mining Issuers
• Government of Quebec Unveils its Mineral Strategy

Geoscience BC News

• Explore QUEST Project Geochemistry in Google Earth
• Geoscience to Stimulate Exploration Activity in the Nechako Basin, BC

BC Geological Survey News

• Geology of Wolverine River Area, Peace River Coalfield

In Memoriam:

• Winslow Bennett (1925-2009)
• Thornton Donaldson (1929-2009)

Employment Opportunities
Courses & Education
Upcoming Events and Conferences

Subject to the approval of the BC legislature and the Parliament of Canada, effective July 1, 2010, the government of British Columbia intends to harmonize its provincial sales tax with the federal Goods and Services Tax. The government’s intention is to harmonize the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) into a single sales tax, by combining a seven per cent B.C. rate with the five per cent federal Goods and Services Tax (GST), for a HST tax rate of 12 per cent. For the full BC government news release, visit http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2009PREM0017-000141.htm.

AME BC has a diverse membership including geoscientists, prospectors, engineers, entrepreneurs, exploration companies, suppliers, mineral producers, and associations. In light of this, we are seeking member feedback on the HST – will this be a benefit or drawback to your profession or business?

Please provide your comments to Byng Giraud at Byng@amebc.ca.

Although the world continues to cope with the ramifications of a severe economic downturn, there is an emerging sense of renewed confidence in the economy, perhaps signalling that the recession is almost over and that better times are ahead. As many members of AME BC can attest, the spring rally in commodity prices, led by metals, was strong and broad-based, reflecting improved market sentiment, U.S. dollar depreciation, and commodity-specific factors. Since the beginning of March, the TSX Composite has jumped 40%. Commodity prices have climbed 7.5% since May. The main driver of metal prices has been the continued strong demand from China. However, the strength in metals, which are priced in U.S. dollars, is also being attributed to the decline in the greenback. And now with signs that the U.S. economy might begin a recovery, especially in the housing and automotive sectors, prices are receiving yet another boost.

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AME BC Congratulates New National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo

AME BC congratulates new National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, who emerged from a gruelling 8 rounds of voting over 23 hours on Thursday, July 23, with a 58 percent majority vote among Canadian chiefs. Our experience with National Chief Atleo since 2004 in his former role as BC Region Chief of the AFN is that he leads with vision and integrity. He has the rare ability to balance tolerance and understanding with strength of conviction and will be a unifying force for First Nations across Canada.

National Chief Atleo’s four-pillar focus is on strengthening communities, Nation building, active participation in economic development and environmental stewardship, and continuing efforts on title and rights. We believe he has the strength and commitment to realize this vision he has set out for First Nations. He is a respected builder and exceptional spokesperson for his constituency. His family and community exemplify the strength of vision and spirit that have shaped him as a leader.

National Chief Atleo has developed a respectful and productive dialogue with the mineral exploration and mining sector over the past years. We express our appreciation for his leadership in BC and look forward to working with him in his new role, as well as the new future BC Region Chief.

The BC Region AFN will select a new Regional Chief in September. 

AME BC has launched a groundbreaking Aboriginal engagement toolkit as part of its redesigned website at www.amebc.ca. The toolkit will also be launched as a DVD in August 2009.

“Our members told us they need practical tools to understand and implement effective practices in Aboriginal engagement,” said Gavin C. Dirom, President and CEO of AME BC. “In this toolkit, our members will find templates and samples of required materials, as well as context to the current political, social and cultural environments in which they may be working,” said Laureen Whyte, Vice-President of AME BC, and a co-author of the toolkit. Ultimately, the toolkit has been designed to help facilitate dialogue based on mutual understanding and respect, and a commitment to honest and transparent communication.”

“As an industry, we know that each project is unique, and each community, Aboriginal or non-aboriginal, has different expectations for communication and engagement,” said Whyte. “We believe this toolkit is a step in the right direction and will be a useful tool to help the industry build effective working relationships with First Nations and Aboriginal people.”

“We are very pleased to launch both the Aboriginal engagement toolkit and our new website simultaneously,” said Dirom. “We have been a membership-driven organization for 97 years. The website presents new opportunities to engage with our members and provide resources for BC’s world-class mineral exploration community.” 

On July 17, AME BC launched its redesigned website at www.amebc.ca.

In addition to the improved design and navigation, the new amebc.ca features a number of new enhancements including the ability for existing members to login to the site, modify their profile information, view the interactive membership directory, and sign up for AME BC events. For instructions on how to access your online account, click here.

The website also now features the AME BC Job board, the best way to find a job in the mineral exploration industry. We aim to connect qualified personnel with companies seeking skilled employees. If you are looking for work, you can browse all of the current postings and if you are an employer, you can create a job posting. For more Job Board information, click here.

Other new features include the ability for new members to sign up online, as well as view the AME BC Aboriginal Engagement Toolkit.

Make sure to visit the site frequently as new features are being added daily! If you have comments or suggestion related to the new amebc.ca, please contact Mary Hughes, Communications Coordinator, at mhughes@amebc.ca or 604.630.3927. 

AME BC recognizes that uranium and thorium are important and valuable natural resources and exploring and mining those resources are legitimate and safe activities occurring in Canada and around the world today, and into the future. AME BC members are encouraged to responsibly promote standards of excellence in uranium and thorium exploration, development and mining, including closure and reclamation.

AME BC has created a set of Uranium & Thorium Exploration Guiding Principles that members should strive to follow while conducting their activities. Click here to view the guiding principles. 

AME BC recognizes that health and safety are fundamental cornerstones of the mineral exploration and mining sector. In pursuit of preventing incidents among its members, AME BC encourages the promotion of sound and responsible business practices to ensure everyone’s right to a healthy and safe workplace.

AME BC has created a set of Health and Safety Guiding Principles that members should strive to follow while conducting their activities. Click here to view the guiding principles.

When: Sunday October 4, 2009
Where: Concord Pacific Place

Last year, more than 170,000 participants in 55 communities raised $28.5 million across Canada! Women in Mining had 65 members in 3 cities and contributed $34,022.49 to that amount. This year, the team is looking to grow and surpass last year's goal - and they know they can do it with your help!

Join our team in the 1km Walk/5km Run - Registration is easy!

1. Visit www.cbcf.org
2. Click on the “CIBC Run for the Cure” logo
3. Click on Register and start fundraising today! You can register as either a returning participant or a new participant. Once you register, you can set up a personal donation page where friends and family can support you. Online donations are quick, easy and secure.
4. Select your nearest run site location
5. Enter your profile information - click continue
6. Check the box to agree with the Run Waiver and click continue
7. Register under the third option: Join an existing Team at my Run location and select continue
8. On bottom half of the page enter: Team Name: Women in Mining
   Team Captain Last Name: Cox
9. Select continue
10. Select Join this team
11. Choose your registration method and welcome to the team!  

The British Columbia Securities Commission will offer mining companies the ability to apply for an advance review of their technical disclosure beginning Sept. 1, 2009 in order to facilitate the timely receipt of a short-form prospectus. The BCSC is introducing this new review service to assist mining issuers planning an offering under NI 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions to identify technical disclosure and filing issues outside the time pressures of an offering. The purpose of a pre-prospectus review is to identify any potential issues that may delay the final receipt of a prospectus.

“We recognize that short-form prospectus offerings are often done under tight deadlines,” said Martin Eady, BCSC director, corporate finance. “This streamlined review process should help issuers close their financing and make a distribution with minimal delays.”

After receiving an application from a mining issuer, BCSC staff will commence a review of technical disclosure filed on SEDAR for compliance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The review will usually include the latest annual information form (AIF), most recent technical reports for the issuer’s material properties, news releases, and material change reports.

To request a review an issuer must give at least 10 days written notice prior to the date it expects to file its preliminary short-form prospectus. The request should be addressed to Robert Holland, the BCSC’s chief mining advisor, and e-mailed to: review.request@bcsc.bc.ca. There is no charge for this service.

For more information, visit www.bcsc.bc.ca or contact Ken Gracey, media relations, 604.899.6577. 

On June 29, 2009, the Government of Quebec unveiled its long-awaited mineral strategy. This strategy is taking action to boost mineral activity and increase spinoffs in Québec and its regions. Local and aboriginal community involvement and the harmonization of land use and environmental protection are core elements of the strategy.

The primary objective of this strategy is to ensure the sustainable development of mining in the province of Quebec. The Mineral Strategy seeks to achieve this objective by way of three policy directions:

• Creating wealth and preparing for the future of the mineral sector
• Ensuring environmentally friendly mineral development
• Fostering integrated, community-related mineral development

A copy of the Mineral Strategy is available at http://www.quebecminier.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications.asp.  

Geoscience BC has announced the release of Geoscience BC Report 2009-8: Geoscience BC Data Explorer, a Google-Earth-based Query tool for the exploration of the QUEST project geochemical data recently reanalysed by Geoscience BC. This project was developed by Will Cadell of Timberline Natural Resource Group and Geoff Mulligan of Golder Associates.

Geoscience BC Report 2009-8: Geoscience BC Data Explorer can be accessed at: http://geosciencebc.tnrg.ca/.

The Data Explorer allows users to query Geoscience BC's QUEST Project regional geochemical data (stream and lake sediments), providing an extra dimension of visualisation. Instead of seeing every point and having to discern which samples might be of interest, the user is able to input specific geochemical criteria (e.g. copper greater than 500 parts per million) into a web form hosted in Google Earth. The result will include only those samples which match the criteria, delivered directly into Google Earth. This way each user is empowered with a tool to interact with the Geoscience BC geochemical data.

The data explorer currently includes three QUEST Project ICP-MS geochemical datasets, which were released by Geoscience BC in 2008. An extensive help page is provided, as is background information on the QUEST geochemical datasets.

All QUEST datasets and reports can be downloaded from Geoscience BC at www.geosciencebc.com/s/Quest.asp. 

In support of Geoscience BC’s mandate to attract oil and gas investment to the Nechako basin area of BC, Geoscience BC issued a request for proposals for applied geoscience projects that will further the understanding of the evolution and hydrocarbon potential of the Nechako basin. They encourage proposal submissions from industry, academia, government, First Nations, communities and not-for-profit organizations.

Over the last three years, Geoscience BC has provided funding for a range of geoscience projects in the Nechako basin, and many of these results are now available. Projects that obtain additional information from these existing datasets, or develop integrated interpretations from multiple datasets, or acquire additional appropriately targeted geoscience information are welcomed.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Reprocessing of the 2008 Geoscience BC Vibroseis survey; attenuation of scattered coherent noise is one area of interest, but proponents are encouraged to examine the seismic data, which is available from the Geoscience BC web-site, and to propose their own approaches to improved seismic imaging.
• Quantitative simulation of the response of airborne electromagnetic surveys over the Nechako basin using the results from existing magnetotelluric and borehole surveys in order to discriminate Cretaceous sedimentary rocks from other lithologies at depths up to 2 km.
• Heat flow and thermal evolution of the Nechako basin. Cost effective measurement of heat flow or the identification of areas of elevated present heat flow from other data are areas of interest.
• Geological studies of basin stratigraphy and faulting, especially those that can provide age and paleoenvironmental constraints on the various stages of basin evolution using chips or cores recovered from boreholes or the available outcrop.
• Constraints on the distribution and thickness of the Eocene volcanics from either direct sampling or remote sensing methods.
• Development of regional tectonic models that integrate a wide variety of relevant geoscience datasets, including faulting history, and have the potential to indicate the thickness of Cretaceous and/or Eocene sedimentary rocks across the basin.
• Slimhole drilling to constrain stratigraphy under the volcanics and borehole logs that complement recovered core.

For more information, please visit www.geosciencebc.com. 

The Wolverine river area lies southwest of the town of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia. The map area extends from Bullmoose creek in the north to the Murray river in the south, encompassing about 300 sq km of the Peace River coalfield. The Gething and the Gates Fm of early Cretaceous age are the two main coal bearing formations in the area. The Quintette and Bullmoose mines opened in the early 1980’s and exploited coal measures within the middle Gates member in a number of pits that include South Fork, Mesa, Wolverine (Frame). The Quintette mine closed in 2000 and the Bullmoose (South Fork pit) in 2003. In 2006 Western Canada Coal started production from the Perry Creek mine in the Perry syncline area on the north side of the Wolverine River.

The study provides a more detailed and accurate geologic base to aid further resource development. It is based on new field mapping, review and compilation of previous data, fill-in mapping and stratigraphic assessment of new drill data, including petroleum well data.

The open file is available to view at: www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/PublicationsCatalogue/OpenFiles/2009/Pages/2009-7.aspx

For more information, contact:
Andrew Legun
Phone: 250.952.0446
Email: Andrew.Legun@gov.bc.ca 

Winslow Bennett (1925-2009)

Winslow Bennett, born in 1925, passed away peacefully at home on July 8, 2009 surrounded by his family. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, MA in 1943 and served as an Ensign in the US Navy from 1943-46. He graduated with a degree in Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1949. Winslow was a leader and entrepreneur in the mining industry for 60 years. He held management positions with Armco Steel, Electro-Manganese Corp., Foote Mineral Co., Laird & Co. and Molybdenum Corp. in the United States before emigrating with his family to Vancouver in 1964 to work for Placer Development. In 1968 Winslow founded Equity Mining, which became Equity Silver. After merging Equity Silver into Placer Development in 1980, he became a venture capitalist and investor in the mining, insurance and technology industries. Winslow was a founding director and shareholder of Cassiar Mining Corp. and Fairfax Financial Holding Limited, and a director of MacDonald Dettwiler Corp., as well as a director of numerous private companies. He was a trustee of the Vancouver Symphony Foundation, the BC Cancer Agency and President of the BC Cancer Foundation. A memorial service was held at Shaughnessy Heights United Church Thursday, July 23. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to either the BC Cancer Foundation to support the Bennett Family Distinguished Lecturer Series Endowment, the Vancouver Symphony Foundation, or the charity of your choice.  

Thornton Donaldson, P.Eng., born August 24, 1929 and passed away on July 9, 2009 in West Vancouver, BC. Born in a small town in Saskatchewan where his father ran the general store, Thornton graduated from Central Collegiate Institute in Moose Jaw in 1946. Later that same year he moved to Burnaby with his family. In 1953 he received his B.A. Sc. Degree in Geological Engineering from UBC. Throughout the early part of his career, Thornton worked in numerous small mining towns in northern Canada and Brazil and in 1962 joined Richardson Securities in Vancouver, BC. He went on to found Donaldson Securities, a member of VSE and ASE. During the final 30 years of his career, Thornton was active in the Canadian junior mining industry founding and advising numerous companies. In the 1990's he founded Uranium Power which subsequently became Oilsands Quest. Thornton continued his work from his Howe Street office until earlier this year with the goal of developing the Mt. Nansen property. There will be no service at Thornton's request. 

AME BC has launched its new Job Board, the best way to find a job in the mineral exploration industry. We aim to connect qualified personnel with companies seeking skilled employees.

If you are looking for work, use the view jobs function and browse all of the current postings.

If you are an employer and would like to post a job, use the post a job function. 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. 

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 coming soon!

AME BC News is a newsletter released twice monthly by the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia. Please send any suggestions, news, or ideas for articles to Mary Hughes, Communications Coordinator:

800-889 W. Pender St.
Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2
Tel. 604.630.3927 Fax: 604.681.2363
mhughes@amebc.ca