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TuesdayFebruary17201517INDUSTRYMININGByMEAGANWOHLBERGThisisanindustryadvisorypanelandnothingmoreNWTIndustryMinisterDavidRamsayreiteratedlastweekafterquestionsfromMLAsposedchallengestothenewlyannouncedminingadvisoryboardintheworksfortheterritory.MLAsWendyBisaroandBobBrom-leyraisedconcernsaboutthenewboardwhichwasannouncedlastmonthbyRam-saywhileattheBCMineralRoundupinVancouverandisanticipatedtocomeintoexistencebyMay.BothMLAssaytheboardwhichwaspre-meditatedintheNWTMineralDevelopmentStrategyisntbalancedenoughtofulllitsstatedintentofensuringthatminingregu-lationisinplacethatencourageseconomicgrowthwhilemaintaininghighregulatoryenvironmentalandsocialstandards.Ihavenoqualmswithincreasingmin-ingintheterritory.Iknowweneedtheeco-nomicdevelopment.Howeverwhenwehaveeconomicdevelopmenttheoffshootandtheresultshaveaneffectonoursocialconditions.Ithinkitisextremelyimportantthatwehaveacross-sectionnotjustpeoplewhoareex-pertsinminingbutpeoplewhoareexpertsontheimpactofminingBisaroarguedinthelegislaturelastweek.AccordingtoRamsaytheboardisin-tendedtoensuretheterritoryisseenasanattractivesiteforinvestmentinmin-eralexplorationanddevelopmentandwillincludeacross-sectionoffivetosevenin-dustryexpertswithexperienceintheNWTintheproductionexplorationandservicesidesofthesector.Thoseindividualswillbehand-pickedatthediscretionoftheministerwiththeintentofdevelopingresourcesintheterritory.ItsanindustryadvisoryboarditsnotasocialadvocacyboardRamsaysaid.IntheNorthwestTerritoriestodaywehaveaverystringentregulatorysystem.Againtheresampleopportunityforthepublicandgroupstocommentondevelopmentsastheyoccur.Wecantlosesightofthefactthatthisisanindustryadvisorypanelandnothingmore.ButBromleysaidtheminingboardfollowsadisturbingprecedentthatsawmainlyin-dustryrepresentativesformtheNWTMin-eralStrategyitselflastyeardespiteattemptstohaveotherviewpointsmadepartofthepolicydocument.Theministerisnowextendingthislackofrespectforpublicinteresttotheappointmentofanindustrypaneltofurtherguidepublicgovernmentactionwhichtodateseemstoconsistofevermoresubsidiesfortheindus-tryBromleycharged.Clearlyhavingaminingadvisoryboardcomprisedexclusivelyofindustryrepresen-tativeswillcontinuethisbusiness-centeredpathandignoresevenindustrysbasicun-derstandingoftherequirementtomeetthepublicinterestintheirexploitationofpub-licresources.Bromleysaidmulti-stakeholderboardsthatrepresentabroadrangeofinterestarevaluabletoolsliketheNWTProtectedAreassteeringcommitteewhichincludestheNun-avutNWTChamberofMinesandtheCa-nadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers.Weneedabroaderbaseofpublicvoicesonthisboardiftheboardistomeetthemin-istersgoalsofrepresentingregulatoryenvi-ronmentalandsocialstandardstheseper-spectivesneedtoberepresentedalongwiththeminingindustryatthetablehesaid.AlongwithhisownstatementBromleyta-bledtwolettersfromnon-governmentalor-ganizationsAlternativesNorthandEcologyNorthbothrecommendingbroaderrepre-sentationofinterestsontheadvisoryboard.WithoutadditionalperspectivesEcologyNorthexecutivedirectorCraigScottsaidheworriestheappointmentswillperpetuatemistrustbetweenindustryAboriginalenvi-ronmentalandcommunityorganizationswhilemissingauniqueopportunitytobuildbridges.MLAschallengeindustryfocusofnewminingboardINDUSTRYMININGByMEAGANWOHLBERGLong-heldsuspicionsofahighmineralpotentialintheFlatRivervalleyadjacenttotheNahanniNationalParkReservehavebeenconrmedbynewresearchconductedbytheNWTGeoscienceOfce.Thoughpreliminarystreamsedimentsamplestakenlastsummerindicatethepo-tentialforgoldtungstenandtinalongwithleadandzincinthewatershedlocatedjustsouthwestoftheparksboundaryclosetotheYukonborder.Itsaveryinterestingarea.TheresalotofdifferentmineraldeposittypespossiblytheresaidJohnKetchumdirectoroftheNWTGeoscienceOfce.Ithasamultiple-metalstypeofgeologicalsignaturetoit.Thoughtheresultsdontprovetheexis-tenceofmineraldepositstheydosupportastrongpotential.Smallgoldgrainswerefoundinthesamplesalongwithevidenceoftungstenwhichwasnotunexpectedcon-sideringtheproximitytotheareasexistingtungstenmine.Somewhatsurprisinglytinwasalsoindicatedalongwithleadandzinc.StreamsedimentgeochemistryisasimpletechniquesimilartotheplacergoldpanningdonefordecadesbyprospectorsintheYukon.Itsbasedontheknowledgethatstreamsrundownhillfromthemountainsandmateri-alserodeintothosestreamsfromareasto-pographicallyuphill.Inthemountainsthereslotsoflittlewa-tershedswhereifyoulookatthesedimentthatsinthestreamyourelookingatsedi-mentthatscomingfromaknownsmallerareawhichisthewatershedareaKetchumsaid.Soifyouuseashoveltocollectasam-pleofthatsedimentmaterialinthebottomoftheriverorintheriverbankanddochemicalanalysisofthatsedimentandtheresamas-sivelead-zincshowingsomewheretheresagoodchanceyoullseesomeevidenceofthatfromerosion.KetchumsaidtheFlatRiverareahasal-waysbeenheldasazonewithhighmineralpotentialwhichiswhyitwasleftoutsideofthenationalparkboundariesfollowingne-gotiationsandwhytheofcedecidedtopu-rusefurtherresearch.TungstengoldtinshowpromisenearNahanniparkGeosciencestudybackshighmineralpotentialoutsideparkboundaryWebasicallyjustfolloweduponthatlogictoputtwoandtwotogethertosayweleftthisareaoutforareasonnowletshaveacloserlookatthatandfurtherassessthatpotentialKetchumsaid.Nowthatthereismoresupportforthoselong-heldsuspicionsaboutthepotentialoftheareaKetchumsaidtheofceintendstodofurthersamplingsometimethissummer.Thatsaidtheyarealsoencouragingindustrytotakeuptheexploratorycause.Wereactuallyhopingindustry-typepeoplearegoingtotaketheinformationwevepub-lishedalreadyandwilllargelycarryonwiththefollow-upworkKetchumsaid.Wedohavetheabilitytogoinandlookatinterest-ingareasinmoredetailandthatwillprobablyhappenbutwerealsosortofrelyingonindus-trytotaketheresultsintotheirownconsider-ationanddecidewhattheywantorneedtodointermsofmakingdecisionsonexploration.TheNWTGeoscienceOfcewentpublicwiththeresultsofthestudylastmonthwhileinVancouverattheBCMineralRoundupconferencewhereKetchumsaidindustryrepresentativesshowedinterestinthearea.PartoftheappealisthatthereisexistingroadinfrastructureintothevalleyaswellasthatprovidedbyNorthAmericanTungstensnearbyCanTungmine.WegetthesensethattheremaybesomeinterestfromtalkingtopeopleKetchumsaid.TheroadthroughtheareamakesitsomewhatdifferentfromalotoftheNWTbecausetheabilitytogetintothatareaiseasierforindustryinthisparticularcase.Ketchumsaiddetailedplanningonfur-thersamplinghasyettocomeandwillbedependentonhowmuchfundingisavailable.Thegovernmentiscurrentlydebatingitsbudgetsowehavetorespectthatprocessofcoursehesaid.PhotoscourtesyofNWTGeoscienceOfceScottCairnsmineralmanagerfortheNWTGeoscienceOfcecollectsasiltsamplefromatypicalsettingintheFlatRiverarea.AlookupatthepeaksabovetheFlatRivervalleyintheDehchoregionwherescientistsconductedstreamsedimentgeochemistryresearchtondoutmoreabouttheregionsmineralpotentiallastsummer.