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| Original News Release |
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| Original News Release |
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Exploration expenditures
were nearly $367 million, 1,266
per cent over the 2001 investment level of $29 million.
·
Total exploration
drilling reached about 1.050 million metres during the year, compared to the
1.254 million metres drilled in 2007.
·
Mineral tenure
acquisitions during 2008 were down slightly from 2007 levels, at 5.2 million
hectares.
·
Number
of exploration projects with budgets in excess of $1 million was 98, versus
just over 100 in 2007.
·
Number
of exploration projects with budgets in excess of $100,000 was 256.
·
There
were 388 exploration projects for
minerals, coal, industrial minerals and aggregate throughout B.C.
·
Number
of reported mineral discoveries in 2008 was 32.
·
Number
of new mine proposals in late 2008 was 26: 14 metal mines, seven coal mines,
three industrial minerals quarries and two large aggregate operations.
·
Number
of mines in production was 54: 10 metal, nine coal and 35 industrial minerals.
·
B.C.’s forecast
of solid mineral production is $5.7 billion, up over one per cent from $5.6 billion
in 2007.
·
Number
of projects under environmental review was just over 20.
·
One new mine
commenced production: Lexington-Grenoble in the Southwest Region.
·
Nine
mines opened or re-opened in the last four years.
·
Sixty per cent of
Canadian exploration companies are based in B.C., raising $2.9 billion in
equity capital (about 40 per cent of the total equity capital for
Canadian-listed exploration companies).
·
Equity capital
was raised by 770 publicly listed B.C. companies which account for 54 per cent
of the national total.
·
B.C. is estimated
to account for about 15 per cent of Canadian mineral exploration investments
during 2008, up from about seven per cent in 2000.
·
Minerals economy as
of 2008 employed 28,000 people in the mining and minerals sector in over 50
B.C. communities: 14,000 directly and several thousand additional jobs in the
service sector that rely on exploration and the mining industry.
·
Mining jobs pay
family supporting wages averaging $101,900 with benefits.
·
Exploration
expenditures by mining region:
o
Northwest: $140
million, 110 projects
o
Northeast: $22
million, 10 projects
o
North-Central:
$80 million, 64 projects
o
South-Central:
$68 million, 108 projects
o
Southeast: $42
million, 63 projects
o
Southwest: $15
million, 33 projects
o
B.C. total: $367 million, 388 projects
NEW
PUBLICATIONS AND MAPS AVAILABLE
The publications
available are an overview of the year in exploration and mining in B.C. and
include:
·
British Columbia Mines and Mineral Exploration Overview 2008,
which outlines B.C.’s most active exploration and mining programs and helps
identify new exploration opportunities. www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/PublicationsCatalogue/MineralExplorationReview/Pages/default.aspx
A map which identifies 195
individual mine and exploration project locations with their associated
commodities in B.C.
·
Operating Mines
and Selected Major Exploration Projects in British Columbia 2008. www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/PublicationsCatalogue/OpenFiles/2009/Pages/2009-1.aspx
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contact: |
Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources 250 952-0628 250 213-6934 (cell) |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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