Ontario Government is blind to exploration problem – by Rick Owen (Northern News – April 2, 2015)

http://www.northernnews.ca/ [Kirkland Lake]

KIRKLAND LAKE – Monday and Tuesday there were about 300 delegates attending the Northeastern Ontario Mines and Mineral Symposium, at Northern College.

Every three years the Northern Prospectors’ Association host this event, which is a great time for networking with prospectors, geologists, mining companies and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines representatives.

Once again the organizing committee from the NPA did an excellent job and considering how small the active membership in NPA this was a huge accomplishment. While the symposium was officially two days long, it was in fact four days as the NPA also hosted courses in the two days leading up to the symposium.

During the symposium there were several talks given, on everything from exploration techniques to updates on projects, many of which are in the Kirkland Lake area. The NPA did a great job keeping everything running on schedule, which in itself is a major achievement.

Another component of the symposium is the trade show area, where local exploration companies, service providers and the provincial government had booths. The trade show floor was a busy place as there scheduled coffee and lunch breaks so delegates had time to visit the booths.

This symposium also had a large positive economic impact on Kirkland Lake because of the number of out of area people that attended, stayed in local motels, ate in local restaurants and purchase gasoline and other retail items.

It is a tribute to the NPA that so many delegates attended the symposium, at a time when there is little or no new green field exploration going on.

As great and informative as the symposium was there was one large black cloud hovering over it. There is one main reason that there is little or no green field exploration in Ontario and that is the government’s total disregard of its legal right to consult with First Nations.

While the government is criss crossing the province holding consultations with people involved in exploration, so it can implement a new strategy for mineral exploration, it is refusing to deal with or remove the barrier that is stopping new exploration.

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.northernnews.ca/2015/04/02/ontario-government-is-blind-to-exploration-problem