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Mineral exploration subsidy announced on eve of national conference

THUNDER BAY -- A provincial announcement to subsidize mining exploration is sparking enthusiasm leading into Canada’s largest annual mining conference this weekend.
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A panel discusses the state of mining at a Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce event at the Airlane Hotel on Friday. From Left, SNC-Lavalin's Stephen Lindley, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation's Doug Morrison and New Gold Inc.'s Kyle Stanfield. (Photo by Jon Thompson, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- A provincial announcement to subsidize mining exploration is sparking enthusiasm leading into Canada’s largest annual mining conference this weekend.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is committing $5-million in rebates to lift a third of exploration costs off the shoulders of prospectors.

“It’s going to help. People are going to go out there and do some more exploration,” said Ontario Prospector’s Association executive director Garry Clark, whose group will administer the fund.

“It basically means you’re using 66-cent dollars so you’re expanding your dollar base and you can do more exploration. That’s a big thing. We need to get more people out on the ground and we need to fill the supply chain.”

The announcement on the eve of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada meeting in Toronto is fueling optimism among explorers, who have endured the downturn in commodity prices.  Clarke said the 75-cent Canadian Dollar matched with a rebound in gold value has his colleagues in high spirits.

Speaking on a panel the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce hosted at the Airlane Hotel on Friday, SNC-Lavalin vice president of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Stephen Lindley said markets haven’t shown enough improvement to regain the confidence of  global investors.

“I think our economy is still pretty volatile. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. Gold is trending up but gold was trending down not that long ago,” Lindley said.

“The companies that have good deposits are going to build those deposits out and we’re seeing that with the Rainy River Project and New Gold, we’re seeing Greenstone Gold Mines. So there is investment going on in gold but I think globally, the mining industry is still somewhat cautious, keeping their cash in their pockets and making really considered decisions around the investment of capital. That’s going to continue for a while.”

Among Ontario’s 40 active mines, 16 are mining gold. Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle welcomed gold’s increase from $1,050 USD per ounce in mid-December to $1,260 USD per ounce on Friday but added public sector investment will encourage development in all commodities when the rebound eventually occurs.

Gravelle said his government is investing in innovation and infrastructure as well as First Nations consultation.

“We’ve been encouraged by what’s been happening with the pricing of gold and it makes a big difference to a number of the operators that are in play right now, let alone new projects -- and there are new projects related to the gold sector that are coming forward,” Gravelle said.

“We need to see it in the other sectors as well and we will. It has been a challenging time for the mining sector but it’s an extraordinarily resilient industry.”





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