Over the past month, AME BC staff and committees have continued to move key files forward. Activities include presenting budget recommendations to the Federal House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on September 28, registering the BC Aboriginal Mine Training Association under the Societies Act and developing bylaws to govern the Aboriginal Skills & Employment Partnership (ASEP) program, and planning for Roundup 2010. Other key files include:

• Meeting with B.C. Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister Abbott regarding the joint Industry Working Group paper and the now shelved Reconciliation & Recognition initiative
• Implementing AME BC’s new cost centre structure for the 2009/10 budget
• Listing the newly Board-approved Guiding Principles in the areas of Land Use, Aboriginal Relations, and Environment on AME BC website
• Participating in various land use meetings and taking progressive positions on related matters (Atlin-Taku, Mountain Caribou, Mel Stewart and Flathead Valley)
• Intervening in the Supreme Court of Canada case re. MiningWatch et al. vs. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Natural Resources Canada, et al. (Red Chris mine) October 16 hearing in Ottawa. 
• Receiving Canada’s $130 million announcement regarding the Northwest Power Line (along Highway 37) 
• Hosting the October 14 Speakers Series luncheon with guest speaker, Wei Shao
• Preparing Nomination Committee and AME BC Board of Directors Election
• Participating at BC Technical & Research Committee for Reclamation symposium, Union of BC Municipalities convention, Global Chinese Financial Forum.

We are embarking on the nomination process for available 2010 director positions on AME BC’s Board. If you are an AME BC member and wish to nominate a candidate for the 2010 AME BC Board of Directors please note the following nomination procedure:

Your nomination must be:

(1) Made in writing;
(2) Be signed by at least 10 members;
(3) Include written consent of the nominee; and
(4) Be submitted to AME BC on or before October 23, 2009.

Please submit your nominations by email, fax, or by mail (post marked by October 23, 2009) to:

Morgan Tanner
Executive Assistant / Office Administrator
Association for Mineral Exploration BC
800-889 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2
mtanner@amebc.ca
Fax: 604.681.2363
Phone: 604.630.3919

Once the nomination period has ended, if you are an AME BC member, you will receive an AME BC Board of Directors Election package in the mail in mid-late November. This package will provide further information on how to vote, and details regarding the AME BC AGM where there the results will be announced.

Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. has been confirmed as Roundup 2010’s AME BC-CIM-MEG Luncheon speaker. This luncheon is taking place on Thursday, January 21, 2010, and is a ticketed event.

As well, Charles Jeannes, President and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., has been confirmed as Roundup 2010’s AME BC Luncheon Speaker and Peter Barnes, President & Chief Executive Officer and Director for Silver Wheaton, has been confirmed as Roundup 2010’s AME BC Finance Luncheon Speaker. For more information on these events, visit www.amebc.ca/roundup/socialprograms.aspx.

Registration for Mineral Exploration Roundup 2010 is now open and tickets are available for all social and special events! Early Registration Deadline (to qualify for early registration rates) is December 11, 2009. To ensure you receive the full member discount, make sure you sign up or renew your 2010 membership before purchasing your Roundup delegate pass.

For more information regarding Mineral Exploration Roundup 2010, please visit www.amebc.ca/roundup/overview.aspx. Details of special events, luncheons, field trips and more are being updated daily.

Halloween is an exciting day for many children and adults alike. This year, keep all your little Ghouls and Goblins safe by reviewing these safety tips:

Halloween Candy

• Inspect everything your child brings home before they even get a chance to eat any of it.
• Check the ingredients if your child has any food allergies.
• Look for choking hazards, including hard candy and chewing gum, if you have younger children.
• Throw out unwrapped treats or anything that looks like it may have been opened or tampered with.

Costumes

• Flame resistant material is important. A child’s costume can easily brush against a lighted candle and catch fire which is why costumes should always be made of flame resistant materials.
• Make sure the costume fits well. A costume that is too long or baggy can drag on the ground causing a child to trip or get it caught in something, which could lead to a serious injury.
• Good Ventilation is very important. Tight masks and other head gear can cause lightheadedness and dizziness, as well as be very uncomfortable.

On the Road

• On Halloween evening and night, avoid driving in subdivisions when most trick-or-treating takes place.
• Stay well below the speed limit and give yourself extra time to get to your destination.
• Pay extra attention to what is going around you. Be conscious of sidewalks and roadways and watch for any children darting across the street or in between parked cars.
• When pulling in or out of driveways stay alert of your surroundings.

For more Halloween safety tips and advice, visit www2.worksafebc.com/enews/091009/091009.htm.

Bill C-300, which is a private member's Bill, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries, has passed second reading and has moved to the committee stage.

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), as a national organization representing the mineral exploration community, has been very active on this file and has a position paper available at www.pdac.ca/pdac/publications/na/pdf/090812-bill-c-300-position-statement.pdf.

Jon Baird, president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), debated John McKay on Bill C-300, on CBC’s The Current on October 16. The program is available at www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/.

AME BC encourages concerned members to contact their Member of Parliament. For more information, or if you have any questions regarding Bill C-300, please contact:

Laureen Whyte
Vice President
AME BC
604.630.3928
lwhyte@amebc.ca 

Effective September 1, 2009, the BC Securities Commission’s Corporate Finance Division launched an initiative to speed up the review process for companies in the mining sector that want to distribute securities using the short form offering system in National Instrument 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions.

Companies that use the short form system often have a short window to complete their financing to obtain the best pricing and complete the distribution. To facilitate these offerings, the BCSC has launched an initiative to streamline and expedite the short-form prospectus review process for mining companies for which British Columbia is the principal regulator. (as defined under Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System).

BCSC staff will use their best efforts to review the company’s technical disclosure filed on SEDAR for compliance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, including the company’s annual information forms and existing technical reports before the preliminary prospectus is filed. The purpose of this review is to identify any potential issues that may delay the final receipt of the prospectus.

A company seeking this advance review must provide written notice to Robert Holland, Chief Mining Advisor, at least 10 days prior to the date it expects to file its preliminary short-form prospectus, requesting that staff conduct a pre-filing review. Companies should send their notice electronically to the following e-mail address: review.request@bcsc.bc.ca

The BCSC has prepared a series of questions and answers that provide further detail about the process a mining company should use if it wants to request a pre-prospectus filing review; visit www.bcsc.bc.ca/policy.aspx?id=8006&cat=BC%20Notices for more information. 

The Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2009/2010 is now underway at www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1314551.

The survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete and consists mainly of questions related to the policy climates of different jurisdictions around the world. Those who complete the survey are entered into a draw for $1000 CDN.

AME BC encourages its members to respond to the survey to ensure that the survey reflects the views of the mineral exploration community as a whole.

If you have any questions about the survey contact Miguel Cervantes at miguel.cervantes@fraserinstitute.org. 

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency invites the public to comment on the conclusions, recommendations, and any other aspect of the comprehensive study report prepared for the proposed Mount Milligan Gold-Copper Mine Project between Fort St. James and Mackenzie in north-central British Columbia.

Public comments received by October 31, 2009 will be considered. All documents received will be considered public and will become part of the public registry. Interested individuals or groups are invited to send their comments in the official language of their choice to:

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
Pacific and Yukon Office
757 West Hastings Street, Suite 320
Vancouver, B.C.  V6C 1A1
MountMilliganCSR@ceaa-acee.gc.ca

The proposed project consists of developing a gold-copper mine at Mount Milligan that would process 60 000 tonnes per day of ore. The proposed development includes a mine pit, process plant, tailings impoundment area and dams, water intake and diversion systems, on-site mine haul roads, explosives factory and magazine facilities, and other associated mine buildings and infrastructure. The proposed project includes a 92-km transmission line and upgrade of the 29-km access road to the site.

Following the public comment period on the report, and after reviewing the comprehensive study report including public comments received, the Minister of the Environment will issue an environmental assessment decision statement.
The comprehensive study report along with more information on this project is available in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry under reference number 08-03-39778. The public may also view the report at the following locations:

Fort St. James Bicentennial Library
425 Manson Street
Fort St. James, B.C. 

Mackenzie Public Library
400 Skeena Drive
Mackenzie, B.C. 

Prince George Public Library
887 Dominion Street
Prince George, B.C.

Vanderhoof Public Library
230 E Stewart Street
Vanderhoof, B.C. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada
3960 Massey Drive
Prince George, B.C.

The British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS), in collaboration with Geoscience BC (GBC), Smithers Exploration Group, and Northwest Community College (NWCC), has successfully completed the field portion of a till geochemistry survey within NTS map area 93E/15 (Nadina River).  Located within the southern portion of the QUEST-West Project area, prospective rocks and an extensive till cover makes this map area ideally suited for a mineral potential assessment using till geochemistry. The Tahtsa Lake District has a rich mineral exploration history and adjacent to the map area there have been numerous exploration successes (e.g. Huckleberry Mine, Equity Silver Mine, Berg developed prospect).

Led by Travis Ferbey (BCGS), and assisted by Russel Gawa (a graduate of the NWCC’s Reclamation and Prospecting Program - RAP), basal till samples were collected for major, minor, and trace element analyses, and for heavy mineral separations and gold grain counts.  Details of this year’s survey will be presented in BCGS’s Fieldwork 2009 and GBC’s Summary of Activities 2009 volumes, with a geochemical data release to follow. Integrating interpretations of these data with other geochemical and geophysical data being collected and compiled by GBC in the QUEST-West Project area, and historic data that have been collected by the BCGS and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), will provide a powerful tool for mineral exploration companies working in this drift covered map area. This is year one of a two year program with map areas adjacent to this year’s being the focus of a summer 2010 till sampling program.

The partnership among the four organizations worked very well. BCGS designed the project, provided the technical expertise and supervised the field work; GBC funded the sample analysis; SEG and NWCC financed and administered the work experience for RAP graduate Russel Gawa. It’s hoped that next year’s program will again connect the advanced field program with a work experience for a graduate of Northwest Community College’s School of Exploration & Mining.

The silt plus clay-sized fraction of 117 basal till samples collected within the Redstone and Loomis Lake map areas (approximately 150 km west of William’s Lake) was analyzed for 37 elements by aqua regia digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and 35 elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), while an additional 38 basal till samples were collected for analysis of heavy metal concentrates and gold grain counts.  The spatial distribution of samples elevated in Cu, Mo, Pb, Zn, Ag, Ni, Hg, As, Cr, Sb, and visible gold grains are the focus of this study.  Data presented here outline two new multi-element, multi-site till geochemical exploration targets.  Follow-up field work is required to assess the significance of these new exploration targets.

For more information, click here.

Key questions addressed in this paper are: “Will the demand for fluorspar outstrip supply in foreseeable future?” and “Will there be enough raw materials to cover projected demand?” The demand for fluorspar is linked to global economic cycles. This paper concentrates on the global availability of fluorspar from the perspective of geological and mineral engineering economics.  British Columbia has several fluorite-bearing deposits that are discussed in this paper.

For more information, click here.

AME BC has launched its new Job Board!

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 are available here.